Sibling's Bond
by Omega Ultra
Summary: If someone you loved were in danger, what would you do? A year and a half ago, Dipper journeyed into the Gravity Falls Forest and vanished. And now, how far will Mabel go to get him back? And what dangers are in store for her along the way?
1. Beginnings

"_How far would you go to save someone you love?"_

_~Anonymous_

* * *

"So Mabel Pines, I want to know what happened, from the beginning." Sheriff Blubs says with a stern tone in his voice and a serious look on his face.

He is acting as if, for first time ever, he actually cares about doing his job. Stan probably paid him off so he would.

We're sitting in a stone-cold interrogation room. The fact that it's winter doesn't help with the cold. To my right is the one-way mirror they have in some rooms.

Even though I can't see through it, I can tell that Deputy Durland and Stan are standing behind it; maybe even Soos and Wendy were there.

My bloodstained scarf is still tied around my neck, the same place it has been for the past few days. My boots are filled with snow and cold water.

Both are reminders of what has happened in the past few days.

"So Ms. Pines? What's your answer? We found you clutching the dead body of your brother, Dipper Pines, while both of you were covered in blood." I can tell that Blubs doesn't want to be here, sitting in a cold interrogation room at the Gravity Falls police station.

Personally, I don't want to be here either, but I know that if I ever want to get out of here and see Dipper again, I might have to tell him.

"Please... Let me go." I whisper, but to no avail. Blubs leans forward, and looks me straight in my tear-filled eyes as he shakes his head mockingly and says in a threatening tone, "We're not letting you go until you tell us what happened to your brother."

It looks like I have no choice. I guess I have to tell him what happened. I'm desperate to see my brother again.

So I look down, and ask for a glass of water. Blubs nods and yells, "And get us some hot cocoa too! It's freezing in here!"

After a few minutes of silence, the deputy walks in, carefully holding the three drinks in his arms. He sets the drinks down in the center of the table, before pushing a cup of hot cocoa and a bottle of water over to me, and handing the other to Blubs.

Durland then whispers something to Blubs, before the former quickly walks out of the room.

Neither of them says a single word to me. I guess I should be used to it by now. No one knows what I've been through for the past year and a half.

As soon as Durland left the room, Blubs turns to face me.

He just stares me straight in my eyes, waiting for me to speak. And so, heavy-heartedly, I take a sip of my water, and I begin my story.

"Denial, people have told me that I was in denial."

* * *

When Dipper disappeared, I was told that the five stages of grief were denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. And everyone I know has said that I never got past stage one.

A year and a half ago Dipper went into the woods, alone. I should've gone with him. But I didn't. I still don't remember why.

That day, I felt that something was… off. I think that's the word you'd use to describe it.

It was like a there was voice in my head was telling me that Dipper was in trouble, but I didn't listen to it. I just shrugged it off like there was nothing to worry about.

But I found out what was wrong later, when I realized that Dipper hadn't returned from his last expedition that night.

I was really worried. Remember, this is my brother we're talking about! And there were a lot of creatures that wanted their revenge on him.

So to make sure he was safe, I ran into the woods on my own. I searched everywhere for him. I even went into the bunker where that shape-shifter was!

I was so worried for him. I probably would've continued looking for him if it wasn't for Stan, Wendy and Soos. If they hadn't found me and made me go home with them, I probably would've never left the forest.

Over the next few days we searched desperately and tirelessly, hoping to find some trace that he was still alive. But we never did. We never even found his hat. Since he never took that hat off, maybe he was still alive, maybe even playing a sadistic game with me. Then again, Dipper isn't the one to play games.

* * *

Eventually the days turned to weeks, and Dipper was still not found.

It was a cold night, eight weeks after Dipper disappeared. That was the night my parents, with heavy hearts, gave up their hope in Dipper, declared him dead and the search, a failure. Most searches only last thirty days. Even though my parents had insisted on prolonging the search, it was still of no use.

I was told to move on, to stop denying that Dipper was dead and that the Gravity Falls Forest had claimed another victim. But now I understand why they did what they did. They didn't want to give up either. It was just too hopeless for them.

Yet, at the time, I believed they had lost faith in Dipper, the Boy who had saved me from Gideon, and prevented Bill from destroying Gravity Falls amongst other numerous achievements.

That night, Stan called me into the Mystery Shack kitchen, and made sit down in front of him. Then he explained what my parents had done, before asking me if I wanted to stay in Gravity Falls.

The obvious reply was yes. I wanted to continue the search, even if no one else would.

I knew Dipper was still in those woods. And I would find him, even if everyone else believed he was dead.

"How do you know Dipper is still alive?" Stan asked me that question a few minutes after saying I wanted to stay in Gravity Falls.

And I gave him a solemn look and quietly replied, "I can still hear his thoughts. It's twin telepathy as I've been told. I can still hear his voice. Dipper is still alive."

He gave me a concerned look, and looked away. It was as if he knew what I was going to do.

For the next year and half, up until a few days ago, I spent my days searching the forest, looking for Dipper.

I had planned my final trip into the forest hastily, with the dying hope that I would find Dipper alive; yet, I always had a feeling that Dipper was gone. But I never let those thoughts cloud my hope. What was killing my hope, was time.

So a few days ago, I carefully waited until nightfall, and then I put my plan into action.

Most people would say what I did was unplanned, crazy and dangerous. And personally, I agree with them, but I had to go. I wanted to see Dipper again.

So I grabbed my backpack off of Dipper's bed. I had asked them not to remove it. My parents and Stan protested the idea of having an empty bed just lying around in the attic, but I insisted.

I carefully climbed down the stairs, making sure my boots wouldn't make a creak and alert Stan.

Once I reached the front door, I quietly opened it, walked outside into the cold winter night, and closed the door behind me so the shack wouldn't get cold.

Then I ran. I ran as fast as I could towards the forest.

There was so much snow on the ground; I could barely trudge through it with my boots, let alone run. The blizzard in my way was so thick; it was as if there was a wall of snow ahead of me. I have to admit, it wasn't the best time to go searching, but I just couldn't wait!

By the time I reached the forest outskirts, the blizzard had covered my tracks. There was no more turning back.

And so that night, I resolved to find Dipper. If he was still alive I would find him. If he was dead, I'd find his body. And the only way I'd fail was if I died before finding him.

Yet, no matter how much I would love to deny it, deep down I knew I wasn't prepared for a trip like this. I only had a thin jacket over my white sweater with a blue pine tree on it, some food and some warm water. Even the boots I wore were in rough shape. They were so bad that I could barely call them boots. But I couldn't wait any longer. A year and a half is long enough. I had to find Dipper.

I know Dipper would go around the world to find me. Even if the journey would take him through the burning sands of the Sahara, through the cold of the Arctic North and through the challenge of the Marinara Trench.

And so, that night I made a promise to myself, and to Dipper.

"I will go as far as Dipper would go for me. I will find you Dipper, even if I find death, before I find you."

16-19-19-20... 9 20-8-9-14-11 2-12-21-2-19 9-19 3-1-12-12-9-14-7 2-21-12-12-19-8-9-20 15-14 13-1-2-5-12-'19 19-20-15-18-25.

**A/N Exactly one year ago I posted a story called "Denial" and it was well received. I shoved it under a folder titled, "Stories I may continue later" and forgot about it, until Exotos135 reminded me about it, and gave me a concept I could use. So I thank him, along with WendyCourduroy353, CrypticMoonFang, and Fire Dragon Faller for helping me with this story!**

**Is it really necessary to put a disclaimer here? I mean, we know that Gravity Falls is owned by Disney. **

**A/N So tell me what you think of this! I thank everyone who helped me with this story so far! Btw if you want to help me out too, just PM me any ideas you may have for this story.**


	2. Fortune

Blubs takes a sip of his cocoa, before saying, "So let me get this straight. A year and a half ago, your brother disappeared without a trace."

I nod, and he continues, "And despite the fact that everyone around you said he was dead, you continuously denied it."

I nod again, and he says, "And so to find him, you went into the forest, at night, in the middle of a blizzard?" He says the last part wi

th a hint of disbelief.

As I give another small nod I have a solemn expression on my face and closed eyes. He takes another sip, before saying in one of themost smart-ass tones I've ever heard, "I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to call bullshit."

My eyes started to tear up. What is the point of even being questioned if the guy questioning you doesn't believe a word you say?!

Blubs continues by pulling out a notebook and saying in a more aggressive tone, "It was impossible to survive that cold! I received several reports that stated it was too cold to go outside! Let alone journey into the forest with barely any supplies! My department found a group of campers dead, and they all died of frostbite and hypothermia!"

Then with a slightly calmer tone he asks, "So how the fuck did you survive the cold?"

I have no words. It's as if I can't answer him. So instead, I let tears roll down my cheeks, as I look away.

The next thing I knew, there was a slightly bloody fist sticking out of the one-way mirror.

Then, I hear Stan yell in possibly the most threating voice I've ever heard him muster, "Leave her alone. She has no reason to lie, and I want to know what happened to my grandnephew. So if you make her feel threatened, or interrupt her story for any reason, except to recap and ask legitimate questions..."

Stan pulls his fist back; through the hole he created, before bending over to look through it.

He stares Blubs straight in the eyes as he finishes his threat, "I won't hesitate to break down this mirror, and beat the ever living crap out of you."

Blubs fearfully answers, while probably trying to keep the shock of Stan's fist breaking through bulletproof glass from getting to him, "Yes Mr. Pines." Then he turns to me and says, "Well Ms. Pines, you may continue whenever you're ready."

I take another sip of my water bottle, before saying, "The first night I spent in the Gravity falls Forest was cold. It was very, very cold."

* * *

I trudged through ice and snow, while desperately trying to prevent the hail from getting in my eyes. All I could hear was the whirling of the blizzard around me. All I could feel was the cold touch of death closing in on me.

Yet, I still didn't want to give up. It's crazy, I know. Most people would give up and try to find their way back. But, something was giving me the strength and the courage to go on. It was as if someone was subconsciously telling me that I should keep going, even through the icy cold of a blizzard.

It felt like an eternity before I felt something solid again. It was a tree, cold and hard, but very much solid.

That's when I knew that my mission would be difficult, but possible. If I was able to reach the forest, through a blizzard by just sheer willpower, then maybe I would be able to find Dipper the same way.

Luckily for me, the trees obscured the blizzard just well enough so that, instead of a wall of ice and snow, it was just a few heavy gusts.

I walked for what I believe to have been an hour, before I decided to stop and make camp for the night. I couldn't tell in the pitch black and near white out conditions.

It was too dark to pitch the small tent that I had packed. It wouldn't have mattered anyway. The ground was frozen solid and was covered in snow. You can't pitch a tent in those conditions.

So, I decided to find a nice tree to sleep on for the night. It took another ten minutes of wandering before I ran into one. Surprising, I know. Wandering though a forest an unable to find a tree.

In the pitch-black darkness, all I could do was lean back on the tree and hope that my jacket would be enough to keep me warm for the night. I sat down in the freezing snow that night. And so I fell asleep, hoping that I would be able to go back to searching for Dipper in the morning.

* * *

Blubs looks at me as if I am crazy for a second, before taking yet another sip of his cocoa and asking, "So how did you survive? The weather report from a few days ago, states that temperatures hit negative ten degrees and wind speeds hit forty-five miles per hour. My math states that it felt like negative forty-four degrees out there!"

I finish my water bottle, before replying, "How?" I look Blubs straight in his eyes, as I take a sip of my hot cocoa and continue in a stern voice, "I was saved from freezing to death by something I still can't explain."

* * *

I woke up that morning by a blue, still-burning fire. I was in a grass clearing. It felt unusually warm for the winter. That's when I realized that the ground of was resting on wasn't frozen, but soft. It was as if summer decided to visit this one area of the forest.

I was still in my somewhat worn-out clothes. But despite being pelted and covered by snow from the blizzard, everything I wore was completely dry.

Then I heard a girl's voice, "Hey Mabel, I see you're awake now." I quickly scanned the warm clearing for the origin of the voice. "Don't bother looking for me. I exist only in your mind."

"Yep" I thought, "I've lost it. I'm hearing random voices in my head now." And the voice answered my concern, "No, you haven't lost it. Don't worry; I'm just a helper. I'm here to guide you on your quest!"

"And how do I know if I can trust you?" I spoke aloud, while I thought, "Great, now I'm _talking_ to the random voice in my head."

"You can trust me because... because I saved you from freezing to death."

It took me a few minutes to realize that no one could've survived that cold for an entire night. I almost chuckled at the thought of freezing to death. Heh, I guess it would've been a fitting way to end a journey just begun.

"So you're really here to help me?" I asked the voice in my head curiously. And I got an excited reply, "Yeah! I'll be here to help you every step of the way! All you have to do is take my advice! It's your choice to follow it though. You're still free to go where you want!""

Now that that was cleared up, I cautiously walked toward the edge of the warm clearing. "So, do you have a name, random voice in my head?"

The voice answered as if it was excited that I was listening to it, "You can call me Anima! Think of me as your guardian angel."

I checked my gear to make sure I hadn't left anything behind, before I stepped out of the dry warm of the clearing and into the snowy cold of the forest.

"So where do you want me to go?" I said, as I started walking, hopefully deeper, into the forest, when Anima yelled, "Mabel, go the other way! Your first destination is in the opposite direction!"

Following her orders I turned around. I expected to see the clearing I woke up in, but instead all I saw were some trees and snow. The clearing had vanished. It was if it had never even existed.

So I moved forward cautiously, and following Anima's directions, I walked carefully through the area where the clearing was.

But, there was no point of using caution. It was gone. It had disappeared just as many things do in the Gravity Falls forest.

I decided it was best not to question it and just keep moving. I didn't have time to waste investigating random disappearances.

After what seemed like hours Anima finally said, "Ok Mabel, you've almost reached your first destination. Just make a left at the next tree."

The next tree was different from the rest. Instead of being a normal Pine tree like all of the other trees in the Gravity Falls Forest, it was a Redwood.

I touched the tree to make sure that it was real. "Can't believe it huh. I wouldn't either, Mabel. But this tree is real." Anima said. And I replied, "How can this be, Anima? The only tree that grows around Gravity Falls is Pine."

"Remember Mabel, you're in Gravity Falls. Anthyding could hadplen here!" Anima excitedly said, "Now, your next destination is to your left."

I ignored Anima's egregious mispronunciation of the phrase as I looked to my left. I wonder why the phrase reminds of a Japanese Dating Simulator.

To my left was a horse-drawn carriage. It was just like the ones that travelled the Oregon Trail, except it had no horses mounted on its posts.

"Go inside Mabel." Anima urged me, and I chose to start backing up. In an annoyed tone, Anima said, "Don't be a weenie Mabel! There's nothing evil or dangerous about it!" I decided to listen to the voice in my head and go inside.

When I got inside I saw an old woman. She kind of looked like that hand-witch Stan, Dipper and I met.

She was sitting at a dusty, old table. It was as if she had been there for years, doing the same thing in the middle of the forest.

In a raspy voice, the woman called out, "Come in child of the stars, I've been expecting you." Her voice sent shivers up my spine

I carefully came closer to her, and she said, "Take a seat, relax and warm yourself." I complied, and took a seat across from her at the , the old woman pulled out a deck of cards, and said, "You've come to hear your fortune, have you not?" I shook my head in reply.

"Not very talkative I see. You may have not come here knowing what I do. Do you know who I am?" Again, I shook my head in reply.

"Ahh yes. Most newcomers don't expect to meet me." She began to shuffle the deck of cards and said, "I am a very special type of fortune teller. Yet, you don't see the superstitious come to me for advice. I only appear to those who need my... unique form of guidance.

Next, the woman dealed the top three cards of the deck and placed them in front of me face down. "Even if you did not come to hear your fortune, it is best that you know it. Flip the three cards."

I complied, and flipped the three cards face up. I expected something to be on the cards, like a symbol or something. But instead, all three were blank. Could you even tell fortunes with a blank card?

"It is very rare for the three chosen cards to be blank." The woman carefully flipped the three cards face down; "It means that fate has left you free to choose your path. But I doubt you came here to learn that."

I shook my head in reply.

"Yes, of course." The woman sounded unsurprised by my answer. "Now then child, flip the cards again. One at a time."

I nodded, and flipped the card on my right first. Instead of being a blank card, now it had a picture of a little blonde child in a light-blue suit, looking as adorable as he possibly could, while he stood in front of a pyramid with one-eye on it.

"Gideon and Bill?!" I screamed while jumping out of my seat. I couldn't believe that two of my worst enemies were drawn on a playing card that was supposed to be telling my fortune.

"Calm down child." The woman reassured me, "I do not see either of them in your fortune." I sat down in my seat as the woman picked up the card and said, "This is the card of your past. It seems that the two depicted on this card are your adversaries, are they not?"

And I replied, "Yeah. But I haven't seen them in months. Ever since my brother and I..." My voice trailed off, leaving only silence between the woman and I.

Then, the woman carefully and quietly placed the card on the table, before saying, "Child, the card of the past shows what you must remember if you are to survive your present journey."

I looked at the woman skeptically, before asking, "What does fighting a crazy psychic and a dream demon have to do with my search?"

She looked me straight in my eyes, before saying, "That is for you to find out." I nearly slapped myself for thinking I could get a straight answer from a fortuneteller.

Then she motioned towards the card on my left as she said quietly, "Now flip this one."

I don't know why, but I was over come by a feeling of anxiety. I was shaking like crazy; in fact, most people would pull back and try to calm down.

But I didn't do that. Despite being scared of what could possibly be on the card, I still moved my unsteady hand toward the face down card, and carefully flipped it face-up; revealing a blue Pine Tree with a blood red X scrawled over it.

"Do you recognize this?" The woman moved her old, frail hand over to the card and picked it up. She scrutinized the card as I replied, "Yeah, it's a pine tree. It's what Bill called Dipper."

She turned the card, so the pine tree was facing me. Then she said, as if she had said this before, "This is the card of your present. It is meant to show you if your mission is worth continuing. You are searching for your brother, are you not?"

I nodded, and she continued, "The pine tree has been crossed out." I smart-assily replied, "I can see that." She ignored my tone and said, "It means that the one you are searching for is gone, and that your journey is in vain.

I was shocked. That fortune made no sense! I mean seriously, why would the cards say that my path wasn't set, and if I am to survive I need to remember how Dipper and I defeated Bill and Gideon, if Dipper was gone?

The woman carefully placed the card face-up on the table, before saying, "It seems that fate has left it up to you. If you wish to continue your search you may. But, fate has something in store for you if you continue down this path. Flip the remaining card, child."

I moved my hand over to the remaining card.

Then suddenly, I pulled my hand away in fear. It was as if I didn't want to hear the fortune of my future. Then again, I guess I didn't want to. Especially after the fear and confusion I felt after hearing the first two.

"Well child? Will you flip it or not?" The woman started to sound impatient. Then again, she had been dealing with me for the past few minutes so I don't blame her.

Instead of answering, I quickly got out of the chair, and ran out the cart.

The second I was outside that cart, Anima spoke up in an annoyed tone, "Mabel, what was that?!" I panicked and replied, "I panicked, ok! I was confused and wanted to find an answer!"

"Grr, she was about to reveal your future with the final card!" I could tell Anima was more annoyed than I initially expected.

So to calm her down, I turned around to re-enter the cart, but just like the clearing from earlier, it was gone.

"Mabel, you've missed your chance. The fortuneteller only comes to someone once per journey." Anima calmed down as she said that.

I sighed, and said, "So where do you want me to go now, Anima?" Anima replied, "Walk through the clearing, you'll see your destination soon."

And so I complied and walked through the clearing.

I had expected to see nothing of value as I walked through it, but I was wrong. Just before I reached the end of the clearing, something caught my eye.

Two cards, just like the cards the ones the fortuneteller used, were half-buried in the snow. You'd expect them to be falling apart, but to my surprise, they were perfectly fine.

So I picked them up, and looked at their faces. And what I saw caused me to fall to my knees.

The first one had a blue pine tree with a shooting star above it. And the second… had a jet-black scythe wielded by a cloaked man on it.

In my shock I quietly whispered, though I doubt anyone but Anima heard me, "The future is in my hands. Yet, fate has a set goal for me, doesn't it?"

9 23-15-14-4-5-18 23-8-1-20 1-14-9-13-1 13-5-1-14-19, 1-14-4 23-8-1-20 23-1-19 15-14 20-8-5 12-1-19-20 3-1-18-4.

**A/N Ugh, I went through like four versions of this one chapter, and I still don't know what to think of this. So please, tell me what you think.**

**Disclaimer: I'm shoving the disclaimer here from now on. Anyways here's the generic: Disney owns Gravity Falls. Man, do I really need to keep reminding you guys this?**


	3. Lakeside

I calmly place my empty water bottle on the table, before quietly asking, "May I have another bottle please?"

Blubs nods towards the semi-transparent window, before saying, "And get me some coffee too! It looks like we're going to be here for a while!"

Then, he turns to face me and says, "I would like to see the cards you found. You know, for the record. Would you mind showing them to me?"

I shake my head, before slowly and carefully going into my jacket pockets, then my soaked pants pockets and then through my bag, but they were gone. I couldn't find them.

It was as if they had never even existed. But I could swear that I had them when Blubs and Stan found me.

So I whisper, "I can't... I can't find them. They're gone."

The mere thought of him not believing that they existed was enough to bring me to tears.

"Calm down Ms. Pines. It's fine if you can't find them, just continue your story from your last point." I can hear and feel Blubs's annoyance and doubt between the lines of reassurance that he gave. Why is he trying so hard to keep his façade up?

Then he picks up the notepad and says, "Just let me make sure I got my notes down correctly."

I respond with a quiet, "O.K."

He flips to a random page in the book, before carefully reading aloud, "So you survived the first night with the help of a magical being named Anima, who then led you to a witch's hut. Then at the witch's hut, you got your fortune told through playing cards."

His voice hinted at his disbelief of my story. I have to admit; I'm not surprised by his disbelief. I doubt I'd believe this story either, if someone told it to me.

I think, _"I know this story sounds like complete bullshit, but you have to believe me! It really happened! I'm not crazy!"_ as I give a small nod in confirmation. Then he continues, "Then as you were about to move on, you found two more cards and fell to your knees in fear."

I nod again.

Then Durland walks into the room with the drinks. Two water bottles and a cup of hot cocoa for me, and one bottle and cup of coffee for Blubs.

He gives us the drinks, before whispering something to Blubs, and handing him a small piece of paper.

No doubt they're preparing a room at the nearest insane asylum for me, and Durland is just updating him on how long it's going to take till they can send me.

Then, Blubs looks me straight in my eyes, sending shivers down my spine as he says, "O.K. Ms. Pines, you may continue your story."

So, I take a sip of my new water bottle, and then say is calmly as I can,

"That's when Anima spoke up, and began to lead me to my new destination."

* * *

"Calm down Mabel, It'll be ok. You don't need to worry about anything. I'm here for you!" Anima reassured.

Yet, I didn't move. I just couldn't. I was paralyzed with fear. _"__What did the cards mean?"_ I thought, _"__Why are they here? What is really happening here? Do I have any power over what happens next? Had I just "snapped"?!_

I was still on my knees on the cold ground. I didn't care that I was on snow. All I wanted to know was what the two cards I held meant.

Now that I think of it, the pine tree definitely represented Dipper, and shooting star definitely represented me. But the other card… I hoped it didn't mean what I thought it did.

"Come on Mabel!" The girl my head cried out, "You have to get up! If you don't move soon, the magic protecting you will fade!"

But, I didn't move a muscle. Instead I just stayed there, with my knees buried in the snow.

"Mabel! Let's go!"

*Sigh* At this point, it sounded like Anima was done dealing with me.

Now, I don't know what she was thinking, but I guess it had something to do about getting me up and moving again, because the next thing she said was, "*Sigh* fine Mabel, we'll do it your way."

Then I felt something lift me up. It was like someone was pulling me up, forcing me to stand on my own, before letting go.

"Come on Mabel, let's go. It's time to take a load off." She spoke softly, prodding me to move on.

So I snapped out of my confusion-and-fear-induced trance, sighed, and said, "Ok Anima, I'll be fine. Lets go."

"That's great Mabel." Anima started, "But you have had so much on your mind lately, I think it's starting to take a toll on your mental health."

Anima sounded genuinely concerned for me. Then again, she probably needed me alive and at least sane enough to keep moving.

She continued, "So let's have some fun in the snow! Go to your right, there's a lake that you can calm down by."

It wasn't like I had much of a choice anyway. It was either, not follow and probably lose what was left of my sanity to being stressed out and desperate in the cold or listen to Anima and probably take a load off. Now if I were crazy or suicidal I would've taken the former.

But I'm not crazy, so I listened to Anima and made the turn.

Then, after a few minutes of walking, I stumbled upon a beautiful frozen forest scene.

The trees were covered in snow and they all had ice crystals hanging from their branches. The frozen lake and crystals glistened in the daytime sun.

In a slightly frustrated tone Anima said, "Take a load off Mabel. You need to relax every now and then or else you're going to go mad."

All I did in reply was take a seat on the snowy ground, before dropping my back and looking towards the sky.

It looked like it was getting close to noon, and unlike last night, the sky was clear. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky.

I let the cold snow take me in as I calmed down.

Then, when I thought that everything would work out somehow, and that Anima would lead me down the right path, I heard someone cry. I really couldn't tell who the cries were coming from, but for some reason the cries sounded like Dipper's.

I quickly got out of the snow, and scanned the lake edge for the source. Yet, there was no one on the edge of the lake.

Then, I looked out into the frozen lake. I know it sounds weird. You wouldn't expect anyone to be sitting on a frozen lake, just crying their eyes out. Yet, someone was.

Now I don't know what or who, but something told me to walk on the frozen lake and talk to whatever it was.

So I did, and I carefully stepped onto the thin ice.

Then I took another step, and another, then another. The minutes felt like hours as I carefully stepped, hoping that the thin ice I was stepping on could hold me.

So, eventually, after what seemed like hours, I reached her.

She was a young girl, about Gideon's age by the looks of it. He's ten right? Maybe she was a bit older than that. She had brown, silky hair, and wore a sweater, just like the ones I used to make. It was yellow and had three pink butterflies in flight as its design.

And she was crying into her sleeves.

I tapped her on the shoulder, and she looked up to face me. Her face was covered in cuts and blood.

She just stared at me, as I asked, "Why are you here?"

"Have you seen my brother?" She looked into my eyes pleadingly, hoping that I would know the answer.

With downcast eyes and a sad tone, I answered, "No, are you looking for him?"

Her clear, white eyes turned light red as she replies, "I've been looking for him for years."

"What happened?" I curiously asked. I had the aching feeling that I was about to regret asking that question.

She stared into my eyes as she replied, "I died in the forest."

I was shocked, I mean, wouldn't you be too? I was talking to a dead person! I think… I mean she wasn't decaying like a zombie nor was she as transparent as a ghost.

And in my shock, I asked her a question that I wish I hadn't, "How did you die?"

She stared at me in anger, as her light red eyes turned black-red, the sweater she wore changed from its bright yellow to black and the butterflies turned into a broken heart. It kinda reminded me of someone, and no, not Robbie

Then she cried out in pain or anger, I couldn't tell because I was in too much shock to react, as nearby shadows engulfed her, turning her into a mix between the Gremloblin, Bigfoot, and a bat.

My first instinct was to get the heck out of there. But when I tried to turn and run, the monster grabbed my arm, and swiped at my face.

I got cut. It wasn't enough to kill me, but it was good enough to get me to panic.

* * *

"So what did you do?" Blubs cuts me off. "I'm assuming you struggled, that's what most people do in the situation you're describing.

I look him dead in the eyes as I answer, "I did struggle for a bit, but I still don't know what happened next."

* * *

I struggled to break free from its grasp. So I kicked it as hard as I could, but it wouldn't budge.

Then, it grabbed my back, and lifted me up.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't afraid. I mean seriously, trapped in the clutches of a weird monster, in a position that looked like I was about to be eaten or thrown to the ice to die by blunt force trauma. It kinda felt like my date with Gideon.

But, I didn't give up. I guess the fear and adrenaline in my system convinced me to keep fighting, even in what seemed like a hopeless situation. And, I guess someone or something was impressed by my courage or whatever it's called, because I started to glow.

I know, weird right?

The next part is a complete blank to me.

All I remember next is falling into freezing cold water. It was as if whatever caused me to glow, shattered the frozen lake.

And I have to admit; in the few seconds that I was conscious in the freezing lake, I believed I was going to freeze to death in there, I actually laughed.

I know it's weird, it really is, but I couldn't help myself. I guess I was just trying to cope with the fact that I was about to fail my mission.

Heh, I guess at that point I thought I was going to see death before I saw Dipper again.

So with the last ounce of my consciousness I thought of one thing, and one thing only, _"I will see you again, Dipper."_

Yet, someone wasn't willing to let go. I don't know who though. I doubt it was myself. Maybe it was Anima, maybe it was some powerful forest spirit, or maybe it was some other third person.

All I do know is that I woke up a few minutes later and Anima was screaming in my head.

"Mabel, come on! Wake up! Please! Don't die on me!" she pleaded, but I didn't move. It was as if death was calling me, but I wasn't listening.

Then she said, "Come on! Keep fighting! If you don't get up, you'll never find dipper!"

"Dipper…" I whispered, "I have to find him…"

I stretched my right hand, bent my elbow, and dug my hand into the freezing snow, and followed it up by doing the same with my left.

Then, I pushed my body out of the snow. "Mabel! You're alive! Oh thank goodness!" Anima yelled in joy.

I dug my left hand into the snow, before responding, "Yeah, I'm still alive. Where do you want me to go next?"

And like with my hands, I dug my left knee into the frost, before pushing my body out of the snow, and unsteadily standing on my feet.

I was severely dazed; I could barely stand on my own.

In fact, I was in such bad shape, that Anima said, "We'll go to where we need to go tomorrow, try to go to your right. There'll be a place for you to stay for the night there."

Shakily, I waddled through the snow, hoping that I was going in the right direction. Luckily for me, Anima assured that I was wandering in the right direction along the way.

Eventually, I was able to regain some of my balance and vision, but I was still tired, and now badly lost.

I walked for the next few hours, wandering through the forest until it was too dark to even see my own hands in front of my face.

It was dark, and I felt lost. So I asked, "Hey Anima, how much farther?"

At this point, my shaky legs were barely holding me up. And soon, I would be too tired to even make it to Anima's destination. Let alone find Dipper.

Then, as if she was trying to be mysterious, she replied, "Just look ahead."

I sighed, before replying in a slightly annoyed voice, "Look ahead? Anima, it's too dark to even see ten feet ahead of me."

If Anima had a face, I would've expected her to smile a bit when she replied, "Just because everything is shrouded in darkness, doesn't mean you can't find light to guide your way."

"What do you mean?" I asked, and immediately the path Anima wanted me to take started to glow.

Then in a very formal tone she said, "Follow the yellow line, and stay in the middle of the path."

I was too tired to question her about the tone, so I quietly went down the path. I feel like I've heard someone say that before in the exact same way.

Eventually I did reach my destination. It was an abandoned cabin, hidden deep within in the Gravity Falls forest.

"A cabin…in the middle of the woods? I've seen enough horror movies to know where this is headed." I tiredly remarked.

And in the snarkiest voice someone could possibly have, Anima replied, "Don't be a weenie Mabel! It's a perfectly safe place to stay for the night."

I would've argued with her about it, but I was just too tired and cold to say anything. That and it would've more insane not to go with it.

So I carefully walked inside the cabin, and checked for any killers hiding in the corners, before taking a seat on the dusty, old bed.

The cabin wasn't much. It was one giant room, had a bed on one end and a table with two chairs on the other.

I opened a can of food, and ate it without hesitation. I would've drunk the water I had, if it hadn't frozen.

I mean the fruit juice was frozen too, but at least I could break through it to get the tasty fruits.

With my hunger semi-satisfied, I fell back onto the bed. I was so tired that I didn't even bother taking off my boots when I lied down.

* * *

"Excuse me Ms. Pines." Blubs cut me off before I could continue, "You mentioned that you were injured by a strange creature, correct?"

I nod.

"I would like to see them, your injuries. Just to make sure we don't need to bring you to the hospital." He says in a very calm tone.

I pull my bloodstained scarf down to reveal, a scar that slashed across my right cheek. I pull up my right sleeve to reveal the claw marks that were left when the monster grabbed my arm.

Blubs whispers, "Interesting." Before writing something down in his notebook and saying, "Ok Ms. Pines, you may continue when ready."

I take a deep breath, before saying, "I wanted to go to sleep that night, but I just couldn't. I wanted to have the events of day figured out."

* * *

So I tossed and turned on the hard bed. And I guess Anima noticed, because she said, "Can't sleep. Huh, Mabel?"

I just stared at the ceiling, before frustratingly turning to face the wall and saying, "Yeah…"

"What's on your mind kid? Is it about that monster, girl, thing?" She sounded genuinely concerned for my well-being, then again a lot of people would be.

I'll admit, I wanted to lie and say no, but I just couldn't. Besides, she probably knows what I'm thinking, so there'd be no point.

So I said, "Yeah Anima, what was that thing?"

Her concerned voice became somewhat serious and gloomy, as she answered, "That was a lost soul."

"Lost soul?" I asked with some confusion mixed with my curiosity.

"You see Mabel, you're not the first to travel through the forest, nor will you be the last. They come in search of something that they believe exists here." She started.

And continued, "Some find what they are looking for, but the many more who never do spend the rest of their life wandering through the forest. And those who die in this forest become lost spirits. They search for whatever they were searching for in life, in death."

I cut her off, "But why did that girl attack me?"

She was slightly annoyed that I cut her off, but she still replied, "The spirits don't know how they really died or who they really were. Their drive to find what they're searching for, clouds their minds, and causes them to forget anything unrelated to their goal. How they react to being asked questions though, depends on the spirit."

_Great_, I thought, I guess I have to be careful with those 'lost souls' or I may never find Dipper.

"Hey Anima." I ask.

"Yeah Mabel?" She sounded curious as to what I was about to say.

So I said, "Thanks for all of your help, but why are you helping me?"

Her somewhat calm tone turned solemn as she gave an answer that completely caught me off guard.

"Redemption."

3-1-12-13 23-1-22-5-19 1-14-4 3-15-15-12 1-9-18, 19-9-7-14-1-12 20-8-5 3-1-12-13 2-5-6-15-18-5 20-8-5 19-20-15-18-13

* * *

**A/N Man, this chapter took so long to write and edit! But hey, at least this chapter came out as good as I could make it. So please, tell me if there are any mistakes/mess ups here. So as always R&amp;R. How do you guys think this story's going so far? Also I have a poll on my profile, it'd be awesome if you guys could answer it.**

**Not what he seems was epic! **


	4. Orea

"Lost souls, huh? Sounds like a mundane plot device that an author would use because he had no other ideas." Blubs jokingly remarks as he waves his mug in the air, giving the sign for a refill.

I couldn't help but do something I haven't done in a while; I chuckle. I guess Blubs taking the "Lost Souls" for a joke is pretty funny.

So I respond, "I know, but they're more serious than that. They're one the reasons that the next few days were the hardest days of my life. And I doubt that anything else will be harder."

Durland walks into the room with two more bottles of water in one hand, a mug of coffee, and a mug of hot cocoa in the other.

Blubs continues, "They don't sound like anything serious. Well, for you at least. I've heard and seen you deal with far worse stuff in Gravity Falls. Plus, you've…"

I cut Blubs off, "These were different. Dipper and I, we found the weaknesses of everything I could've encountered in the forest. But the lost souls… they were nothing like everything else."

This apparently got Blub's interest, since he took a single sip from his mug with a slightly curious look. "Interesting. If you don't mind, I would like to know more about them."

To tell the truth, I'm tempted to tell him everything I knew about the lost souls. But instead I reply, "I'll tell you more as the story progresses."

Personally, I don't know if it's because I don't remember everything or if I just don't want to remember the pain the lost souls put me through. It's most likely the latter.

"Well then, get on with it." Blubs says, as if he's now interested in the story. Then he looks at Durland, who is standing in front of the table just staring at us.

Blubs just stares at him for a few seconds, before saying in a slightly annoyed tone, "What are you doing just standing there? Leave the drinks here and return to the observation room, deputy!"

"Yes sir!" Durland quickly complies and leaves the drinks in front of Blubs, before hastily walking out of the room.

Then, Blubs slides a bottle of water and the mug of hot cocoa to me, before saying, "You may continue whenever you're ready."

I take another deep breath, and say, "So I was lying there, on the bed of an abandoned cabin, and Anima…"

* * *

She began to tell her tale. Her voice gained a hint of sincerity as she said, "When I was young, I was a free spirit. I could travel the universe, the galaxies, the planets, the totality of existence, as I saw fit. Heh, I guess I was 'living the dream' as humans say."

I smiled and asked, "So, what happened? How'd you end up here, Anima?" She hastily replied with a hint of annoyance in her voice, "I was about to get to that."

Then, her voice became serious as she said, "Until that faithful day… err, few days."

She continued, "Like I said before, you're not the only person to have gone through the forest in search of something before. And I doubt you'll be the last."

I turned to my side and cut her off again, "That's a bit obvious. I mean, there will always be someone with something to search for, right?"

"Right, but before I came, the lost souls were not like the ones you just met. They didn't even exist until I came along." Anima made sure to keep her serious tone as she said that.

I was shocked, and my eyes flew open in surprise, "What?!"

If she had a face, I would've stared her straight in the eyes to make sure she wasn't lying, and I believe she would've done the same. "That's right Mabel, I caused the Lost Souls to exist. I gave them the 'gift of life', or at least a close equivalent."

I just lied there, now even more shocked than before.

"You see, when I was younger, I loved to play pranks. And the pranks I played on mortals were some of my favorites." Her voice regained its joking demeanor as she continued, "In fact, everything happened because of a funny and, now that I think about it, cruel prank of mine."

She didn't say anything for a few moments and I started to worry. Why was she being quiet? Was she remembering the event? Was she trying to make up a convincing lie? I was worried to the point that I was afraid of what she would say next.

Hey, think of like this; if your guide, who has helped you ever since you two met, had revealed to you that she gave birth to those… things that are the "lost souls", you would be a bit worried too. Maybe a little more than I was, or a lot more.

"Well don't leave me in suspense, what did you do?" I yelled. Heh, if someone were near me, they would've thought that I had lost it.

Anima answered me with a chuckle, before saying, "This is going to take a lot of my power, but I'll do it. I'm going to tell you this story, face-to-face."

I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen, but I still said, "Ok Anima, do it."

Then the voice in my head began to chant, "Spiritus ad carnem, animus ad corpus, det formam informi!"

My body began to glow bright pink. Then the light turned orange and dissipated. Next, the light reformed right next to me, creating a being that looked just like me, but made entirely of orange light.

I rolled out of the hard wooden bed and greeted the being by saying, "Anima? Is that you?"

My look-alike nodded, before walking over to the table, and taking a seat on one of the hard, wooden chairs. Then she motioned for me to join her, and I complied.

Then, Anima placed an orb of dim orange light on the table so we could see.

And she began her story; "I started my life in Gravity Falls by messing with a few explorers going down the Oregon Trail."

"I kinda used my powers to send their cart falling down a hill and off a cliff. No big deal, really." Anima said with a joking tone.

Then, Anima's expression and tone became much more sadistic, "I enjoyed reveling in the misery of humans. To me, their pain was my treat. Their screams were hilarious. Some of the stuff that happened was so ridiculous I had no choice, but to not take it seriously."

"I wanted to spend about two weeks doing that, and then go off on my merry way to some other random forest. But then, I messed up. I messed up Big time." Anima's tone turn regretful, as she stared me straight in the eyes, "I led someone astray, and caused the Lost Souls to be born."

I looked into her eyes in response and asked, "Who did you lead astray?"

She gained a serious tone as she continued, "I led one of the most powerful and Sorcerers to ever live astray. He also happened to be one of the craziest. His name...was Pollux Pines."

She continued by saying, "He had all the traits of a Pines. The brown hair, brown eyes, heck! He even had a twin sister named Castor that used to get him in trouble and mess with him from time to time."

I felt a sense of nostalgia after hearing that. I was the same way to Dipper and now… I really miss Dipper.

"But, the only difference was, that he and his sister had misaligned eyes."

Then, using her powers, she created an image of an old man, wearing a blue and golden cloak. He had a long, flowing grey beard and frail, old hands. He held a long rod with a weird circular mirror at the top, by his side.

"He was the Archmage of the nek-" She stopped herself from finishing that word, regained her composure and said, "of Gravity Falls. He was the Archmage of Gravity Falls."

"So what'd you do to piss him off?" I jokingly asked, and I received the reply, "This isn't a joke. I went too deep with him, and paid the price."

She looked me straight in my eyes as she continued, "I talked to him too, just like I've talked to you."

We both leaned back in our chairs, and I said in a sarcastic tone, "So...what'd you do? Tell him that the fountain of youth was nearby?"

Anima chuckled and answered, "Actually, you're pretty close, although the fountain of youth was really far away from where he was going."

Then she projected an image of a random part of the Gravity Falls forest. "You see, Castor was sick. And so to make her better, Pollux ventured into the Gravity Falls forest to find a rare plant. One that could cure Castor's sickness."

"He must've really cared about his sister." I smile and say, "It reminds me of Dipper…"

"Dipper…" I say as tears start to form in my eyes, "Dipper would've done the same for me."

Anima reached over the small wooden table, and pats me on the shoulder, while whispering, "Don't cry, Mabel, everything is going to be fine."

I wiped the tears from my eyes and say, "Thanks Anima. Continue your story please."

Then Anima created the image of a beautiful, white and pink flower. It had seven pure white petals, while the top was a soft pink. The stem was a luscious green, and had seven leaves connected to it. I immediately got an idea of what flower it was.

"A four-leaf! Err… Seven-leaf clover!" I shouted with all my strength.

"No Mabel, this is the Orea flower. It is known as the Sylvan high arbiter plant." Then, I saw a dark aura envelop the flower. It was as if darkness was what gave that plant life and its power. "Though it is a plant of darkness, it is also one of light."

"What do you mean, Anima?" I tilted my head in confusion.

"Simple, Mabel." Anima started, "This flower has a choice."

Then, Anima created two orbs in her hands. The one in her right was made of whitish-yellow light, while the one in her left was made of blackish-purple light.

"If it judges your intentions as justified, it will grant your wish. No tricks, no alterations, no loopholes or waiting. It'll just go and grant it." Anima showed me the golden orb. It shined brightly as she showed it to me.

She then placed it on the table before she continued. "However, if it judges your intentions as wicked…" She showed me the purple orb and placed it on the table next to the yellow one. To show me what would happen, she swapped the golden orb with an illusion of the most evil of things I've ever seen, smile dip.

The way it reacted… just… I have no words. For a second I thought that the dark orb was trying to devour the illusion. It attacked, it struck, and it even dented the table while attacking the pink powder. I'd tell you more, but I'd rather not tell you everything that happened. It still makes me shiver.

So to keep it short, the dark orb calmed down when Anima swapped the illegal candy for the golden orb.

"It'll punish you in ways that no one could foresee." Then Anima created a blue orb with a small, grey blob inside it. "Not even a supposed psychic-"

The grey blob expanded and changed color, forming an image of Gideon. This didn't surprise me at all. I mean seriously, I don't know that many supposed psychics.

"Nor a being that knows lots of things."

The blob reshaped itself into the illuminati triangle known as Bill Cipher. This didn't surprise me either, because I was downright terrified.

Then Anima released the blue orb she created before merging the golden and dark orb, creating a silve_r_ one in the process. "Pollux judged his intentions to be justified. Yet, it wasn't his opinion that mattered. Only the flower's opinion that mattered."

I leaned forward in my seat. Anima definitely managed to catch my interest with that part, "So what'd you do that pissed him off?"

Anima then projected an image of Pollux into the orb, "Simple, I made his journey take longer than it was supposed to. By leading him astray, he wasn't able to find the plant for about two weeks."

"Actually, to be honest, he wasn't mad that I led him astray. Heck, I doubt he even realized that I was messing with him." Anima started laughing as she continued, "I enjoyed watching him struggle. I guess I enjoyed the fact that I successfully led him off course, and he didn't even know."

"So what happened when he finally reached the Orea flower?" I asked, "Did you find another way to screw with him?"

Anima's smile turned into a frown as she said, "I believe this is where I went too far. Like, way too far."

"How far exactly?"

"As far as the distance between Oregon and Tokyo going east."

I didn't really have the time to think about it, but it sounded pretty far.

Then she expanded the orb, and made the image of a meadow on the table. At its center was a gorgeous flower growing out of a silver stone. "The flower growing out of the stone is the Orea flower." Anima motioned at the stone.

I looked around the clearing. It was filled with hundreds of silver flowers, and each had eight leaves and eight golden petals. "Hey, Anima, what are those flowers surrounding Orea? Are they important?"

She swiped at the image of the meadow, and zoomed in on the beautiful, yet simple flower, "Well, Mabel, these are the Alsei flowers. These are known as the Sylvan High Protectors. It uses pure light to protect Orea from those that want to harm her."

"I thought Orea protected herself, you know, by judging people?" I curiously sat back in my chair. Anima replied by zooming out and saying, "It's better to be safe than sorry."

Anima continued, "Anyways, when Pollux went through the field of Alsei flowers, they judged him as worthy to pass through. To be honest, it was really boring. So to spice stuff up, I used my powers to anger the Alsei flowers."

"And what happened next?" I leaned on the table, and came closer to Anima. I was even more interested in her story.

Anima rubbed the back of her neck, and replied, "Well you see Mabel, when one Alsei flower gets pissed off, all of them go… Berserk."

Then she started to wave her hands around and created the image of a boar covered in leaves and branches. It had two golden rings on its horns, and roots growing from its back, "Meet Alsei, the Sylvan High Protector."

"Pollux was forced to fight Alsei if he wanted to get to Orea. And after a long and exhausting battle, he succeeded. And that's when everything went to shit. Or as some people like to say, that's when shit hit the fan." Anima showed me the image of a powerful wizard clad in powerful black and red armor while wielding a jet-black rod, fighting the leafy beast.

"I thought it would be funny to mess around with the Orea flower while he was fighting Alsei. So, when he went to touch Orea, the flower released a magnificent Phoenix."

Anima showed me the image of a fiery bird flying through the sky. When its flames died down, it revealed a green bird with magnificent golden feathers and red trim on its wings, long red "hair", and tropical leaves as its tail.

Anima started to tear up. I could feel her regret as she continued, "I forced him to fight the Orea, the Sylvan High Arbiter. And just like Alsei, he was able to defeat Orea, but at a cost." She then showed me the burning meadow after Pollux finished the battle against Orea.

"The Orea flower was destroyed."

Anima started to tear up as she said, "I was fine overall, but Pollux was pissed off_._ Luckily, he didn't blame me." Anima smiled as she continued, "I was laughing my ass off. Pollux's pain was my joy."

"Then…" Anima's expression turned surprised and downcast, "He heard me laughing. I should've broken my connection to him first, but I just couldn't control myself. Watching him squirm was so pathetically funny. It was my reaction to his failure that doomed me."

"It took Pollux a few seconds to realize my trickery. And boy was he pissed off err… more pissed off than before."

"He raised his staff to the sky, before jamming it into the ground and screaming, 'I call upon the fabled power of the armor of Valkyrus! Curse this evil spirit for causing harm not out vengeance, but for joy! I have judged you as wicked and undeserving of freedom.'" Her eyes opened wider in surprise as she continued.

"His black and red armor gained a dark red aura as he continued, 'Yet, I am not malevolent, and so I give you this. Redeem yourself to my family, and you shall be set free! However, if you try to redeem yourself to anyone else, they shall be cursed to wander the forest with you.' and from then on, I was binded to the Gravity Falls Forest, knowing what I had done, and knowing that it was too late for me to change it."

"So that's how you ended up here." My mouth was open out of surprise.

Anima nodded, and the energy being she was using to talk to me disappeared. "Now you know some of the truth Mabel. Some. Now try to get some sleep."

I yawned, before slowly climbing off the chair, and crawling onto the hard, wooden bed.

Then, a single lightning bolt roared across the forest sky, illuminating the cabin for a split second.

And in that split second, I saw a few letters scrawled across the ceiling.

I didn't get that much sleep that night.

Atabash… Y-R-O-O D-Z-H S-V-I-V

* * *

20-8-15-21-7-8 9 7-18-15-23 19-20-18-15-14-7-5-18 20-8-5 12-15-14-7-5-18 9 23-1-20-3-8 8-5-18, 9 1-13 6-15-18-7-15-20-20-5-14, 12-15-19-29 1-14-4 20-18-1-16-16-5-4

**A/N So tell me what you guys think of this, as usual. Here's a shout-out to Exotos135 for beta-reading this! Seriously, this story would not come out the way it is without him.**

**Disclaimer: you know the deal, blah, blah I don't own Gravity Falls, blah, blah.**

**Also, it'd be awesome if you guys could answer the poll on my profile, it would really help me out.**


	5. Scarf

"It seems you haven't had that much sleep the past few days." Blubs takes another sip of coffee.

I look at him like he's an idiot as I say, "No shit Sherlock, I was downright terrified. I mean seriously, there were these weird dead things in the forest trying to kill me, and the only person I could go to for help was the person that created those weird dead things in the first place!"

"Heh, I guess you have a point there." He gives a slight chuckle; "Still, it isn't healthy to get too little sleep, especially for someone your age. Then again, most high school and college students don't get that much sleep on a daily basis either."

"To tell the truth, Blubs, I honestly didn't care that I was sleep deprived." I say with a cold tone that can only be matched by the freezing cold outside. Then, I look him straight in the eyes as I continue, "If it meant finding Dipper, then I would fight through it. I was desperate to see my brother again."

I could feel Blubs' empathy towards me as he starts, "I have to admit…" but Durland kicking the door open and entering the room cuts him off.

Blubs quickly turns and just stares at the deputy for a few seconds. The tension was is so thick, that not even a katana could cut through it.

Yet, after a few minutes of thick silence, Blubs breaks the quiet by yelling, "Well?! Don't just stand there like you're part of the background, what do you need?!"

Durland's serious expression breaks, as he says in a cheerful, child-like tone, "The preparations are done, she can go whenever you're ready."

"Ok, Durland, go warm up the cruiser. I have some stuff that I need to do before we go." Blubs pulls out his notebook again and looks at me.

My calm and serious demeanor breaks down as I ask, "Where are you taking me?!"

But Blubs just calmly gets out of his chair, walks over to me, and places his hand on my shoulder as he says, "Calm down, Ms. Pines, we're not taking you to a mental institution or anything. We're just taking you to the clinic for evaluation. We need to make sure you didn't catch anything while you were out in the cold."

I nod, and Blubs quickly and carefully escorts me out of the freezing cold interrogation room and to a police cruiser parked outside. Durland is casually waiting for us inside.

When we reach the car, Blubs opens the back seat door, and I slide into seat, and Blubs rides shotgun.

Then, Durland drives through the cold night towards our destination, a clinic in the center of the town. It takes about ten minutes for us to get to it, though I definitely wouldn't have minded if we had taken a bit longer.

* * *

The clinic is an old, wooden building that is falling apart on the outside. Most tourists think that it's abandoned because of its shoddy exterior. But inside, there's find a beautifully crafted interior.

When I first walked into the building, I see a small white desk for the clerk. Past that is the waiting room; a small, clean, white room with ten black chairs with blue cushions; after that, there's a hallway that leads to a doctor's office, his examination room. And passed the examination room is a bedroom for people who have to stay overnight. The clinic really isn't meant to accommodate more than one person at a time.

We quietly entered the decrepit building, and are greeted by a medium-sized woman with pink hair that loops around at the ends. She is wearing a pink shirt with a white dress over it, and has a white nurse's cap with a blue cross on it, "Hello Ms. Pines, I've been expecting you. " Then she motions for me to follow her.

The nurse leads me to one of the bedrooms and asks me to drop my bags, take off my jacket and boots, and tells me that she will see me soon. I feel that something's wrong here, very wrong.

So I comply, and carefully take off my torn light coat and soaking wet boots.

Yet, I leave my bloodstained scarf on. Heck, I don't even know why I don't take it off, but I just have the feeling it should stay where it is, around my neck.

Then, I take a seat on the soft, white bed, before lying down with my head on the soft pillow. I wish I could just sleep here and wait until everything is fine. But of course I can't, this is a clinic, and they haven't even examined me yet!

I wait for about ten minutes before the nurse walks into my room with a folding chair and greets me, "Hello Ms. Pines, my name is Nurse Joy, and I will be talking to you about the story you told to Sheriff Blubs."

Then she unfolds the chair, pulls out Blubs' notebook and flips to a random page, just like Blubs did with me, "So, why don't you continue your story?"

So I sit up, and carefully look into her eyes. I just have the feeling something is not right. I think it's either with the woman or this place, but the point is that something is not right.

"Fine." I say, while I think, _"Why does it feel like someone is trying to mess with my head?"_

Nurse Joy shivers as she says, "Ok, according to these notes, you listened to Anima's story, before going to sleep, and then you saw some… letters scrawled on the ceiling?"

I could feel Nurse Joy's doubt, so I say, "Yeah, I don't know what they mean. But I guess it doesn't matter that much. So the next morning…"

Nurse Joy cuts me off, "Ms. Pines, did you have any dreams that night?"

"What?" I don't know how to respond.

She asks again, "Did you dream that night?"

I smile as I say, "I did dream that night. Isn't that what everybody does when they're asleep, dream? How could I forget?"

"Start from there." Joy instructed, "I would really like to hear about it."

So I start, "I found myself floating in a starry plane..."

* * *

_I could see the universe, stars, planets, everything flying around me. And I stood awestruck by my surroundings, though, I did start to question how I even got there in the first place._

_Then, hundreds of tiny stars clumped together, before releasing a blinding light that engulfed my dreamscape in harsh, white light; and then, he appeared._

_"Dipper?!" I cried out and the figure nodded. I moved over to him and embraced him. I couldn't believe what I was seeing! My long-lost brother stood in front of me!_

_He hadn't changed at all since he disappeared. Save for the inverted colors and the white box he held in his hands._

_"How is this possible?!" I yelled out of joy and surprise. I was seeing my brother again! Although it was dream, it still felt real!_

_But Dipper just looked at me with downcast eyes. That's when I started to worry._

_Then with tears in his eyes, he sadly said, "I don't have much time Mabel, so I wanted to give you this." Then, he handed me the box._

_Next, he pulled me into an embrace and said, "I miss you, Mabel. Keep fighting and you'll find me."_

_I was about to ask exactly what he was talking about, but before I could say anything, small, orb-like stars began flying out of him and he started to vanish. _

_I panicked. I didn't want Dipper to leave me again._

_But alas, I just wasn't fast enough and Dipper disappeared. He had said nothing about his whereabouts. He didn't give me any clues or even leave behind a trace. I had no idea where he had gone to, or where he had been. I had lost him again..._

And that's when I woke up.

I found myself back at the old log cabin. I quickly got out of the bed and scanned the room for anything that was out of the ordinary. And at first glance, nothing seemed unusual, or at least unusual by Gravity Falls standards.

So I sat down on my bed, took a deep breath, and calmed down.

And that's when Anima spoke up, "Good morning Mabel!" I responded, "Good morning to you too."

Anima seemed really ecstatic for some weird reason. Was it her birthday or something?

I decided to lie down and get some more rest, but as I tried to place my head on the pillow, a white cardboard box got in the way.

I carefully lifted the box, and inspected it, "It… it can't be…" I was really surprised. It was the same box that Dipper had given me in the dreamscape…

I was so confused, , _"Okay, something is definitely wrong here."_

After being paralyzed by fear and confusion for a few minutes, I moved my trembling hand to the lid of the box, and opened it.

Inside was a beautiful, white silk scarf. It's the same one I'm wearing right now. I couldn't believe what I was holding, and not just because it was a tad redundant.

I carefully inspected the scarf and threw the box into the corner. I think I heard a poor cat meowing in pain after it hit the wall.

The scarf was pure white, and looked as if it was created from a single strand of silk. Its ends were decorated with ribbon-like loops, and free strands. It looked as if a master craftsman had put weeks of effort into creating this beautiful cloth.

"This… this is beautiful…" I couldn't help but mutter as I tied it around my neck and mouth, "And it's so warm."

Nothing really interesting or out of the ordinary happened that morning. But, the funny thing is, Anima stayed quiet for the entirety of it, until after I ate, packed my things, and got ready to leave.

Then, right before I walked out the door, Anima said, "It looks like you're ready Mabel, it's time for you to go to your next destination. And trust me, the faster we get there, the better."

I asked with a hint of annoyance in my tone, "Hey Anima, now that I think of it, you never told me where you're leading me?"

The voice in my head replied in a calm tone, which seemed really out of place for her, "Overall, I'm leading you to the Spring of Dreams and nig…" Her voice trailed off.

Now that definitely caught my attention: the Spring of Dreams and nig-what? Nightsticks? Nightshirts? Nightwalker-no wait, I think that was a movie...a terrible, terrible movie. Seriously though, what was Anima hiding?

"There you will be able to find Dipper." She ended with a hint of seriousness and sincerity in her voice.

And with that line, she caught my attention. I perked up and yelled in joy, "So what are we waiting for?! Let's go!"

"Calm down Mabel, it's not as simple as that." Anima said with a calming tone, "The spring was created after Pollux cursed me to wander this forest. He used all of the power in the armor of the Fabled Valkyrus to clear the field and fill it with pure water. Then, after enchanting the water, he put a dome of magic to hide it from the 'common people'."

"So what's so special about the spring?" I asked as I carefully stepped out of the cold of the cabin, and into the freezing cold of the forest.

"You see Mabel, after hiding the spring, Pollux gathered the remaining power left in the dead Orea and Alsei flowers, and enchanted the water with them." Anima continued, "I can lead you there, and from there I can be freed, and you can find your brother. No tricks, no changes, and no demons trying to take over your body."

"Well then, let's go. We have no time to waste!" I was about to attempt running through the ice and snow, but Anima stopped me by saying, "I would Mabel, but the problem is, there are a few things we have to do first, if we want to make sure nothing goes wrong."

I groaned, "Like what? Climb a mountain? Find a magical mirror that just so happened to belong to Pollux? Ride a unicorn? What do I have to do to find Dipper?!"

Anima chuckled, "Actually, you're pretty spot on. After using his power to create the spring, Pollux hid his staff somewhere in the Gravity Falls forest. And by somewhere, I mean a random location that I do know of."

At this point I thought, "Am I actually going to go through with this? Am I really going to follow this voice in my head that says she can help me find Dipper?"

I mean seriously, wouldn't you be hesitant on going on a journey as crazy as this? I mean sure, I've been through crazier stuff, this is Gravity Falls we're talking about, but you get the idea.

So I started this journey, thinking that I would just go into the forest and find Dipper alive or die trying. Though, I preferred the former.

And now, I'm going after some weird artifact that a voice in my head is telling me about. And, the voice is telling me that it will help me find Dipper.

Sometimes, I feel like my entire life is just one over-convoluted story that some random author writes while he sits in his school library. And then, that author asks another author to check it and fix any problems he finds; you know, like grammar and stuff. When he should be helping me find my brother!

And if this really is a story written by an author and his friend, then dear Authors, _"Why are you doing nothing!? Why are you making me struggle?!"_

So anyway, I thought, _"I guess I have no other choice. If I want to find Dipper, I have to listen to Anima."_ And I say, "Ok Anima, so which way do you want me to go?"

The girl in my head excitedly said, "Let's go Mabel! You're next destination is about a mile to your left!"

_"Great,"_ I thought, _"I hope I don't get blisters on my feet from trudging through the thick snow."_ As I started forcing my way through the cold snow as I made my way towards Anima's destination.

* * *

"Interesting," Nurse Joy scribbles down some notes as she continues, "So you really trusted the voice in your head?"

I look her straight in the eyes as I say, "Yeah, I did. I trusted her with everything. And yes, I did find it strange at first, but I started to accept it eventually."

"And what about the scarf?" She carefully flips to another page as I ask, "What do you mean?"

She looks at me with warm, empathetic eyes as she says, "I would really like to see it. It sounded beautiful."

I nod and say, "Sure…" My voice trails off as I untie the knot that holds my bloodstained scarf around my neck, take the piece of white and crimson cloth off, and hand it to Nurse Joy. It feels wrong to take it off, let alone let someone else hold it.

As I hand the cloth to Joy, her eyes go wide. Then she takes it in her hands and inspects the soft fabric. I watch as she marvels at the beauty of the scarf.

Then she asks, "Whose blood is this?" as she brings the scarf closer to me.

I start to tear up again and I say, "It's… it's my own…"

She gives me a questioning look, before saying, "Ok, well, before you continue your story, I would like to treat any wounds you have." Then she stands up, puts her Blubs's notebook on the bedside table and continues, "So if you don't mind, I would like you to undress. It'll be easier to clean and bind your wounds that way."

I look at her like she's crazy for a second, before replying, "Ok."

Then, she turns around and walks out of the room, leaving me to undress.

And I think, _"Why do I have I feel that some is watching me? I can't undress if someone is watching!" _So I yell, and hopefully Nurse Joy won't hear me, Hey! Whoever is in here, get out you pervert! Or at least turn around!"

But my fears are realized when I hear Joy say through the door, "Are you ok in there?" My face turns red in embarrassment as I respond, "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't come in yet!" I hear her respond, "Ok" with a tone hinting at disbelief.

I sigh and mumble, "She doesn't believe me either. She's probably talking to Blubs and Stan, telling them that I'm crazy." Before taking off my torn, white sweater with a blue Pine tree design, and throwing it on the bed.

Next, I carefully take my wet, white socks off, making sure not to put too much force on my left ankle. Then, I take off my still-wet pants and long johns, and throw them next to the nightstand.

Finally, I take off my white undershirt and drop it on top of my pants, leaving me standing in nothing, but my light-blue panties. And before you ask, no I'm not wearing a bra, you perverts.

Actually, wait a minute! What are you still doing here?! Get out and let me change in peace!

_"I wonder where Nurse Joy went."_ I think, as I lie down on the bed, using my white sweater as the pillow. Heh, I have to admit, despite the fact that it is torn, wet and was frozen solid; it's still softer than the pillow that the bed came with.

After about twenty minutes, Nurse Joy quietly walks into the room carrying a medium-sized box and a folding table.

She carefully places the box on the floor, before unfolding the mini-table. Then she opens the box, and takes out a medium-sized roll of bandages, Band-Aids, hot and ice packs, a bottle of alcohol and cotton pads.

Nurse Joy motions for me to get up, and I comply. Then she says, "Lift up your arms so I can bind your wounds." Before grabbing a cotton pad, pouring some alcohol on it, and rubbing it on the cut on my arms. I flinch in pain.

Then she fanned my arms with her hands, before using the bandages to cover all of the cuts on my arms.

"Ok, now lie down so I can fix your legs." She went into the box, pulled out a bottle of water and some more bandages. And she did the same with the cuts on my shins, and thighs.

Then she felt my ankles and feet. She carefully took the hot pack, snapped it, and used a bandage to secure it to my left ankle.

The last things she does are, inspect my chest and back, and tie the last bandage to the cut on my chest.

She then hands me the towel to cover myself with, but I say, "No, I would rather wear my sweater and scarf."

She sighs, closes the box and puts it aside, before sitting in her chair and saying, "Ok Ms. Pines. Are you feeling better?"

I nod, grab my sweater and scarf, put them on and say, "Yeah, I feel better. Thanks."

"I would really like to know how you got all those cuts," She says, "you may need to go to a real hospital for further treatment."

And I reply, "I'll tell you how later."

Nurse Joy sighs again, grabs Blubs's notebook and pen and says, "Ok Mabel, I'll let you continue your story whenever you're ready."

So I take a deep breath and say, "So I trudged through the ice and snow for about an hour, before I reached my destination…"

25-5-20 9 19-8-1-12-12 2-18-5-1-11 6-18-5-5 1-14-4 13-25 19-20-15-18-13 19-8-1-12-12 18-9-19-5

* * *

**A/N Hey guys, I would've saved this chapter for later, but I really wanted to give you guys something for spring break. So as usual R&amp;R, it would really help me out. I also thank Exotos135 for beta-reading this chapter. Note: this chapter is lighthearted for a reason.**

**Happy Spring Break to all!**


	6. Hunters

So I was sitting on the bed, just trying to tell my story, when Nurse Joy decides to interrupt me again.

"Mabel, if you don't mind, I would like to hear more about how you got to your destination rather than what you did when you got there, for now." Nurse Joy cuts me off again, "After all, the journey is more important than the destination."

I just stare at Nurse Joy for a few seconds, "You really like cutting me off don't you? It's really annoying."

"I'm sorry Ms. Pines…" Her voice trails off, before she slowly scribbles something down and continues in a quiet voice, "Please, continue from wherever you want to. I'll just catch up…"

I chuckle, "Don't worry about it." I look her straight in the eyes as I continue, "After all, my Grunkle Stan isn't here. If he were, he'd probably punch you in the face for interrupting me."

Joy sat straight up in her chair, "I guess that's good for me then, I think… Are you sure he's not going to burst in and punch me in the face?"

"Heh, yeah. Don't worry, I doubt Stan is listening to me right now. I'll tell you about the journey." I lie down on the bed as Joy says, "That's great Mabel."

Then she flips through her book and says, "Though if you don't mind, before you continue, I'd like to make sure I have my notes written down correctly."

"Sure." I say sarcastically. I'd rather not be forced to remember what led me up to this point, but to see Dipper again I'll work through it.

Joy continues flipping through the book, before stopping on some random page, "So Anima told you her story and you were just about to leave, correct? Those are all the notes I've written since you've arrived."

I nod, "Yeah. I haven't told much of my story since I got here. You were fixing me up after all."

She nods, "Of course. By the way, how are you feeling?"

"Fine, with a hint of paranoia." I answer, and regret saying.

"Paranoia? Please, tell me more." Her voice gains a hint of sincerity as she comes closer to me, "I would really like to help you Ms. Pines."

Again, I stare at her, "After everything that's happened, I'd rather not go too deep into it, yet."

"Does it involve the lost souls?" she says in a soothing tone as she places her hand on my shoulder, as if trying to make sure I stay calm.

I nod in reply.

She closes the book and sits back in her chair, "Ok Ms. Pines, you may continue."

I think, _"I dodged a bullet there. She almost went too deep. I have to be careful or else…_" as I keep the same worried expression on my face, _"Or else they__'__ll think that my story is complete bullshit, think I__'__m crazy, or some other third thing!"_

So I take another deep breath and continue, "So I trudged through the ice and snow…"

* * *

And struggled to make my way through the forest, but I fought through it.

No normal person would even think to dare to go as far as I did. Heck, a normal person would've caught frostbite or hypothermia by now. Yet I somehow endured the freezing cold and all of its risks.

Yet, the freezing cold was the least of my worries on my journey to the frozen lake. Though the cold wind nipped at my nose, I didn't worry about getting sick. To be honest, I was more worried about the shadowy creatures known as the lost souls. At least the cold air was somewhat predictable. Those… creatures were not.

I had only seen one at this point, and they already terrified me. Wouldn't you be scared too? Being alone in the woods, with a semi-trustworthy companion and you never know when a dark monster is going to attack you. It sounds like someone's worst nightmare.

So I travelled as carefully and quietly as I possibly could, so could be fully aware of my surroundings, and so that no one would be able to hear me.

After forcing my way through the snow and ice for what I believe to have been ten minutes, I heard a deep groan. I had to do everything in my power not to shriek in fear. Then I carefully looked around the area I was in, before jumping into a patch of nearby bushes.

And then, it came, a beast that I will never forget.

I quietly made a small hole in the bush so I could know exactly when the lost soul passed. It took a few minutes; several terrifying moments, but it came... Eventually.

The soul was deformed. I couldn't even tell if it had ever been a person. I just took one look at it and I wanted to throw up, gouge my eyes out, and scream in fear.

And to be honest, I would've, but I was too terrified to move. And what was even more terrifying, was fact that I wasn't able to see much of the lost soul from the small opening.

Yet, I didn't need to see the whole thing to be afraid.

All I could see of the lost soul were a dense, and bloody arm and a bent, mossy and deformed leg. But what I heard terrified me more.

As it moved, it groaned and made a light clicking sound. Its evil voice sounded deeper than a zombie's. Heck, this thing's groan was so terrifying, that even a horde of zombies would run if they heard it.

Do you know how hard it was to keep my cool? I almost screamed and jumped out of those bushes, but something held me back. Was it Anima? I don't know.

All I do know is that after a few minutes, I heard the creature groan again, make several loud clicking sounds and start limping away.

I took a quiet sigh of relief at that point, before waiting a few minutes for the lost soul to move away from me.

Then, after I waited for what seemed to be a silent eternity, I carefully climbed out of the bush, making sure as to not make a sound as I quickly placed my feet in the snow and ice, fixed my bag and walked towards my destination again.

I walked for ten minutes, ten quiet moments, before I saw another lost soul. Yet this time, I wasn't as afraid. Albeit, I was nervous and suspicious, but not afraid; and to be honest, seeing this lost soul put me at ease. After all, I just encountered the scariest thing I had ever seen; seeing a small lost soul was soothing.

This time, it looked like an old man. In fact, it was exactly how Anima had described Pollux to me. It even had Pollux's misaligned eyes and blue cloak with gold trim. And in the few seconds I had to see him, I actually thought that this man was Pollux Pines.

As I quietly passed by him, he grabbed my shoulder and whispered, "Be weary child, for nothing is what it seems. Do not trust anyone!" before disappearing in a flash of white light.

I didn't know what to say or how to react. So instead, I just continued walking along. I acted as if he had never said anything to me, or even existed. I moved his warning to the back of my mind and buried it. An act I regret deeply.

* * *

"A lot happened on your way there, huh?" Nurse joy scribbles more notes down. I expect one of the lines to have, "This girl is crazy" written on it.

I just reply with downcast eyes and a frightened tone, "Some of the things that happened on that trail still haunt me today."

"Interesting," Nurse Joy puts the notebook on her lap, "Would you mind telling me more? I mean you don't have too if you…"

"It's fine," I say, cutting her off, "I'll tell you what happened."

After forcing my way through about half a mile of snow covered forest ground, I heard a deep groan again.

* * *

I stopped and listened, hoping that it wasn't the lost soul from before.

*Groan*

"Damn it." I whispered as I quietly moved along, hoping that I would spot the lost soul before it spotted me.

Luckily for me, I found it about thirty feet from where I was. And this time, I was able to get a better and more terrifying, look at the lost- no, these were no longer lost souls. These were dark souls.

The creature was about five times my size. It had weird, plant-like almost fungal growths all over its naked body; the… growths on its head sprouted up and created plate-like horns. And if that wasn't terrifying enough, whatever was growing over its body not only made it seem larger and stronger. but gave it protective plates all over

What could possibly be worse than that? Absolutely nothing, except for the fact that it wasn't alone.

It was surrounded by about five other lost souls. They all made a creepy, clicking sound, I didn't realize why until one of them turned to me and I saw its face.

The five souls were human-ish in appearance, but their faces were deformed beyond belief. They had the same plate-like horns of the big one, and black eyes with red, snake-like pupils. Their teeth were sharpened into fangs; they had bent legs and bloody arms. And they limped around like zombies.

I quickly thought, _"What are those things? Will I turn into whatever those things are? How will I get out of here? Will I ever reach my destination? What if I get turned into one? What'll happen then?"_

"Calm down Mabel," Anima's voice cuts through my thoughts, "You'll be able to get through this, but only if you can keep your head."

"_Where have you been Anima?" _I carefully moved closer to the six weird creatures, _"And what are those things?"_

"I've been resting Mabel, I was really tired after telling you that story last night." Her voice is filled with apologetic sincerity as she continues, "Sorry I wasn't able to talk to you for a bit."

"_It__'__s fine Anima, now tell me, what the heck are those things?"_ I motioned towards the six dark creatures ahead of me.

Her voice gained a surprised tone as she said, "Those are new."

"_So you have absolutely no idea what those are?!" _I mentally yell at the girl in my head, _"That's just fucking great, Anima!"_

"Calm down Mabel, I've seen the small ones before, but the giant one? That's new."

I took a small sigh of relief as I thought, "So how do I deal with the small ones?"

Her voice gained a somewhat joking demeanor as she replied, "Simple Mabel, you don't."

If Anima had a face, I would stared her straight in the eyes to make sure that she wasn't lying to me, _"Then how do you expect me to get passed them?"_

"It sounds crazy, but just walk right past them." Not only did Anima sound serious, she sounded like she had dealt with those things before.

"_No shit it sounds crazy! What the fuck are you thinking Anima!"_ I have to admit; I was going to just run in the opposite direction if Anima didn't explain herself.

"Mabel, you see those horns and fungus-like plates?" I take a good long look at the weird spirit and notice exactly what Anima was talking about, _"So Anima? The plates are covering their eyes…"_

"Mabel, those things use that clicking sound as a form of echolocation. So the only way they'll notice you is if you make a loud noise while you're close to them." Anima said.

So I took one quiet breath, before moving as carefully and as quietly as I possibly could. I knew that even the slightest noise would alert the creatures to my presence, but I didn't hesitate.

I couldn't, because if I did I'd make a sound. So I took a step, and then another and another. And eventually, I was able to sneak right past the six monsters.

And then, *snap*

My foot had stepped on a buried tree branch. _"Aww fuck." _

The 6 souls turned to me, and the five small ones ran as fast as they could at me. The biggest one tried to run too, but it couldn't move that fast because of its large size.

The only thing I could come up with, was run. And so I did.

*Click* *Click* *Click* *Click* *Click*

I didn't look back, but their horrifying clicking sound kept reminding me of their presence. They were relentless, I tried to escape them by diving into a nearby bush, but sound of leaves rustling led them to me.

So I was forced to run as fast as I possibly could through the snow and ice. But when you're dealing with snow and ice, don't get your hopes up.

It was nigh impossible for me to get away from the dark souls, but I tried anyway. Every few minute I jumped from bush to bush trying to get away from them. Heck, I even tried to lead them away at one point, but it was of no use. They somehow heard me after I threw rock into some nearby bushes.

Now that I think of it, they must've been listening to my breathing. It'd make sense, after all, I was struggling to breath and was taking deep, loud breaths.

And then, my run came to a end. I ran over a thick sheet of ice that was covered by a thin layer of snow. What happened next is predictable, I slipped, twisted my ankle, fell forward, and somehow ended up rolling into a dead end.

Seconds later those clicking monsters arrived behind me.

*Crraaaccckkkk*

They trended slowly as they approached me. And for a second, I thought that this would be the end. So what did I do?

I didn't move. I just lied in the cold snow, and brought my knees up to my chest, before closing my eyes and waiting for the painful release of death at the hands of these monsters.

Then I heard a low whisper, and I can guarantee that it wasn't Anima, "Mabel, fight! There's a tree branch near you, use it to fight them off!"

I would've argued, but I didn't have much of a choice. So I opened my eyes and quickly scanned the area. I had the cliff to my back, and the five clickers were slowly approaching. Then, I looked up and I saw what the voice had said.

There was a loose tree branch right above me, and so I thought, _"Thank you random voice in my head." _As I got out of my vulnerable position, jumped up while ignoring my injured ankle, and broke the fragile tree branch off with a loud, *snap*.

The five souls screeched, and charged at me. And so, I braced myself, and swung.

And I managed to knock two of the dark souls's heads off, causing them to dissipate into dust, but the other three got to me.

They attacked my arms, trying to rip off my jacket and sweater with their sharp claws, but I used the branch as a barrier to hold them all back.

Then, using all of my might, I grunted and pushed them all back, causing them all to lose their balance. I was able to take out another two with another swing, before the third ran at me straight on.

It nearly got to me too, but I was able to jump out of its way, and swing at the back of its head. Yet, it somehow heard me and dodged my swing, before charging at me again. But I reacted quickly, and took this chance to I implail it with my stick. After that, I breathed easy. I was successfully able to defeat all five of those crazed dark souls on my own.

*Groan* *Click* _"Aww double fuck"_ I thought. The big one was right behind me at this point. I was so busy fighting the other five off, that I didn't realize how much noise I was making.

I slowly turned to face the massive creature, and all it did in reply was stare at me with its nonexistent eyes.

In a single motion a pulled the branch from the dead soul and swung at the giant beast, but it was of no use. The creature's thick armor protected it from my assault.

*Groan* the creature raised its arms and swiped at me, but I rolled under its meaty arm, and tried to run.

But it somehow grabbed me, it was like some outside force had given it super speed for a second. Then it slammed me into the ground, before throwing me into a nearby tree.

I quickly slid down the hard bark of the tree and landed in the cold snow beneath it.

I couldn't move. My head hurt, my body ached, and my strength was fading. The adrenaline that helped me fight off the clicking lost souls had worn off at that point, and I just couldn't fight anymore. And for a few minutes, it seemed like it was the end of the line for me.

All I could do, was watch as the dark creature slowly stepped towards me. And in my last few seconds on consciousness, I saw the monster pull back, and punch…

9 23-9-12-12 12-9-22-5 6-15-18-5-22-5-18, 9 18-5-6-21-19-5 20-15 7-1-4-5 1-23-1-25 20-15 20-8-5 14-5-22-5-18! 1-14-4 20-8-1-20 7-9-18-12 19-8-1-12-12 2-5 20-8-5 11-5-25 20-15 13-25 5-20-5-18-14-9-20-25!

**A/N Hey guys, I told you I made last chapter light-hearted for a reason. And yes, I know I uploaded chapter 6 a while ago, but dang it, I hated the way I turned out, so I replaced it with this version.**

**Review please, it really helps when someone tells me what I can do better with/improve on.**

**Last thing: Disclaimer… meh, I've made enough of these things already. You know the deal, I don't own Gravity Falls and whatnot. **


	7. Thanatos

It was the purest definition of hopeless.

I was alone in the Gravity Falls Forest. There was no help on its way, my only companion had seemingly abandoned me, and I was about to be killed by one the strongest lost souls I'd seen.

If you don't understand how scared I was, imagine this: You're alone in the forest, and not just any forest either, the _Gravity Falls_ forest; searching for something that you've been looking for, for years now. And the only "person" with you on this journey, is a little voice in your head.

Oh, and by the way, that voice in your head also is your morally ambiguous guide and is the creator of the creatures that are hunting you. And now, that companion has abandoned you in your time of need, and you're about to be killed a massive creature of unimaginable horror.

I doubt any of you know how stressful and terrifying being in that scenario is. Heck, I doubt any of you have been in something close.

"_How do I get out of here? What can I do to fight? Where is Anima? Is anyone going to help me?" _I thought, _"Can I still fight? Is there anything left for me to fight with?"_

To be honest, I wanted to fight for my life, just as I did with those clicking dark souls, but I was too tired to even move, let alone fight off a massive monster that could kill me with a single punch.

"_I guess this is the end…"_

But then, out of nowhere, a voice cut across my seemingly final thoughts. And I swear to you and to whoever is up there in the sky, it wasn't Anima.

"Aegis Shield!" It cried, "I will not let you harm her!"

I didn't hear anything else, because right after I heard that, I passed out.

* * *

"Interesting," Nurse Joy scribbles more notes down, before looking at me and asking, "So you really believed that you were going to die?"

I reply by just glaring into her soft-blue eyes, "Do I seriously have to answer that? Is it really necessary to answer something so obvious?" Then I get up and slide my feet over the edge of the bed.

She quietly nods before writing more notes down. Seriously, by this point I shouldn't have to go so deep.

I think, "_Why is she going so deep? Is she trying to mess with me?" _Before realizing, _"But, maybe it's for the best. Even if it's meant to mess with me, it's helping. I've started to feel… calmer ever since I came here. Maybe Nurse Joy really is a good people nurse, despite having a day job helping Pokémon."_

So I sigh and answer her, "Yeah I did, but… wouldn't you think so, too? After all, I was staring down creature about ten times my size, and it was close to finishing me off." Before falling back and lying on the bed.

She stutters, "Of… of course I would. I've never been in a situation like that, but…"

"So how would you know then?" I cut her off with a harsh tone, "After all, you don't know what it's like to be staring down death."

"But I can assume, can't I?" she responds in a calm tone, "After all, it's only human to feel fear in the face of death. Why else do people preach about what they believe to be what happens after the end?"

I almost chuckle, almost. "I should calm down, I guess. After all, it's hard to take me seriously if I'm yelling at you and questioning your methods all the time. Besides, that's Grunkle Stan's job."

"Of course, so would you like to continue your story now?" Nurse Joy nods before lifting up her pen and notebook, ready to take notes.

I nod and ask, "Is there anything you'd like to ask me before I start? I'd rather not be forced to stop to answer questions for a bit."

"Here, let me just make sure that my notes are right first." She says as she flips to another random page in her book." She must be close to running out of pages at the rate she's going through them, "Ok, Mabel, so after you left the cabin, you sneaked through the forest, right?"

I nod, "And then I got attacked by a giant lost soul, and I left off right as I was about to get hit. But then something saved me. I still don't know what though."

"Ok. My notes are in order, so you may continue when ready." Nurse Joy looks eager to hear more of my story. If I didn't know better, I'd think she was reading this on the Internet like some random fanfiction reader.

Not that I have any problem with it of course! After all, it's not they're wasting their time. Wait no, I didn't meant that either! I've got nothing against fanfiction readers! Some of my best friends even read fanfiction! I should probably just shut up and tell the story, before I make things worse… like I usually do.

So I look Nurse Joy straight in her cyan eyes as I continue, "I'm sorry I lied, but it didn't take me about an hour to reach Pollux's staff. It was more like five or six. Anyways, I came to a few hours later…"

* * *

To the sound of Anima screaming, "Mabel! Are you ok?! Please be ok!"

"Oh Please be ok, please Mabel! Please!" She pleaded, as if she was genuinely concerned for my well being, "I don't want you to be another lost one! You're lost already because you went into the forest without a map. Becoming a lost soul would make you double lost!"

I stirred, before opening my eyes. I expected to see the monster still standing above me, waiting to finish me off.

But luckily for me, the creature was nowhere in sight.

"Yeah, Anima, I think I'm ok." I say as I carefully rub the aching back of my head and try to stand up. But, I couldn't keep my balance for long, so I immediately fell flat on my face.

"Are you sure you're ok? It looks like you're sick or something." I clutch my side as I answer, "Yeah I'm fine."

Then, I grit my teeth as I force myself back up. I tried to take a step and keep moving, but I was just too weak. So I lost my balance again, and fell face-first into the cold snow ahead.

*Sigh* "Mabel, face it, you're not ok. You're badly injured… again. Looks like we're going to have to take an alternate route… again."'

"No." I said defiantly, "I don't care about my injuries; I won't let anything distract me anymore, not even my own limits." Before I forced myself again, and actually stood in the cold air for a few seconds, but I got the same result; I was still too weak and fell flat on my face.

I could tell that Anima was stunned, because she responded with a stutter, "But don't you… I mean wouldn't you like-?"

To be honest, I secretly wanted to go and get my injuries treated, but I decided against it. After all, finding Dipper is more important than my well being. I'd take a beating for him, and he'd do the same for me.

So I cut her off again, "No, I don't care. I'm going after Dipper, no matter what. And I am not letting anything stop me now!"

Anima sighs before replying, "Ok Mabel, we'll do this your way, the staff is about a thousand feet to your left. Please try not to injure yourself more on the way there."

"I'll try my best." I seriously reply as I force myself out of the snow. I struggle to stand on my own two feet, but after grabbing a nearby tree branch and forcing it into the ground like a crutch, I was able to move again.

And so I forced myself through the snow…

* * *

My voice trails off.

And Nurse joy continues to scribble more notes down. Seriously, at the rate she's going at, that notebook's gonna be full by the end of my story. Then, when she finally finishes writing, looks at a little, to pink watch on her wrist. It has a yellow star with tiny hearts in-between the points, small white wings, a mini crown on the top and a small crystal heart at the bottom.

She looks at me again and says, "It's about nine o'clock Ms. Pines, would you like something to eat? We don't have much here, but I'm sure I could make something so you won't starve."

"Do you have some warm soup?" I ask, hoping that she'd say yes. After all, I haven't had a good meal in days, and I'm hungry for something warm to eat, "I'd like to have some."

"I don't have any premade soup, but I can make some. There's a sink and small stove in Doc's office. I doubt he'd mind if I…" Her voice trails off, as if she became unsure of herself.

This nurse has some serious self-esteem issues, but I guess I can relate with her more than that officer.

"That'd be great." I say as I stand up and put my torn sweater back on. Nurse Joy responds by closing the notebook, and getting out of her chair, "Ok Ms. Pines, follow me."

I comply, after all, I'm hungry; wouldn't you be starving after going through the freezing cold with barely any supplies?

So Joy takes me to the small office right next to the examination room. Man, this place is small.

The room is what you'd expect the typical doctor office to be like, albeit with a few minor changes. The desk is right there when you enter and behind it is a small window; to the desk's right is a document cabinet and a water dispenser.

But the left side is interesting. Instead of closing off the office with another wall, the room is cut off by a small barrier with a marble top and openings at both ends. Behind the green wall is a small, simple, and plain kitchen.

It isn't much, but it it's better than nothing. It has a small sink in the right corner. Next to that is a small stove with a built-in oven. There's a small counter with built-in cabinets in between the stove and a small fridge.

Across from the stove and counter is a small wooden table with two white plastic chairs. I carefully take a seat on the hard piece of plastic. The floor has simple and dirty white tiles. I feel as if this thing is used often or just hasn't been cleaned in a while.

"So Mabel, while I'm cooking, why don't you continue your story?" Nurse Joy says with a weird enthusiasm, as if the mere thought of cooking calmed her down. Figures, I guess we all have a place where we feel the most comfortable.

I sigh and reply, "Sure Joy, I'll continue…"

She throws a small, metal pot in the small sink and starts washing it, before saying, "I may not have the notebook, but I'm listening. Speak when ready."

"I limped through the snow, not caring about my injuries…"

* * *

Despite the snow icing my injured ankle, I still couldn't move it without feeling pain. So I did my best not to move it, a stupid mistake on my part.

It seemed to be about noon, but I really couldn't tell. After all, there were dark clouds overhead; it seemed as if it was going to snow in a few minutes.

"Keep going Mabel! You'll be there soon!" Anima assured. It's hard to take what she said to heart, especially with my injuries. I thought that I would never reach the staff.

That's when I heard the sound of a horse galloping.

*Clop* *Clop*

I turned as fast as I could in search of the source, but I couldn't see it. It was like whatever was coming was invisible.

*Clop* *Snap* *Clop* *Clop*

The sound… it was getting closer. I started to panic, and tried to limp away, but you can't really get that far on an injured ankle.

"Mabel! Run!" Anima's voice cut through my thoughts, "Whatever's coming doesn't sound good! Get out of there now!"

I mentally scream, "What the fuck do you think I'm trying to do Anima! What the heck is coming?" I force my weak legs to move through the freezing cold snow in my way.

*Clop* *Clop* *Clop* *Clop*

It was getting closer! My heart started to race as I mentally screamed, "Anima! Answer me! What the heck is after me?!"

But the voice in my head was silent. And just when I needed her again! It was as if she had abandoned me, again.

Yet, for some reason, I didn't believe she had abandoned me, though. I thought that, maybe something had forced her to be silent or she was too weak to keep it up.

"Please Anima! Where are you?!" I screamed, as I threw the stick I was using as a crutch and jumped up, before sprinting as fast as a person with an injured ankle possibly could.

*Clop* *Clop* *Clop*

No matter how much I ran, and no matter how much pain I was in, whatever was behind me wouldn't stop, like it was half-horse and half-machine.

It was almost like it had my scent, and it wanted to catch me. I was being hunted, and I had to get away.

But it's hard to get away, when you don't even know where to run. Yet, I didn't give up, I kept running as fast I possibly could.

Then, I tripped over buried tree branch, and fell onto the cold snow ahead of me. I couldn't move anymore. I was too tired to run. So, what did I do?

I just lied on the ground and waited for the hunter to finally catch up to me.

*Clop* *Clop* *Clop*

I few minutes later, I watched a majestic grey horse with black armor, a golden helmet, red eyes, a black mane and a red horn. It looked like a powerful warhorse… no, not horse. The creature was a powerful war unicorn.

And on the unicorn's back was a man covered from head to toe in dark armor. He had the same golden trim as his unicorn, and dark energy flowing through the joints in his armor. He had jet-black, metallic, wings on his back.

He sat up high on his horse as he pulled out a silver sword with a dark handle, and pointed it at me, "Who are you?! And what have you done with my daughter?!"

I was stunned; I had absolutely no idea how to respond… rationally, at least. I had quite a few ways to respond in panic or worry. So I looked away, as he moved the sword closer to my neck.

"Well?! What have you done with her?!" He jumped off his horse and came even closer to me, before grabbing me by the sweater and lifting me up.

"I don't' know." I said meekly, "I don't know where your daughter is, I don't know what happened to her, I don't even know who you are!"

The man looks at me sternly as I do the only thing I can think of: plead. "Please sir, don't hurt me! My brother's disappeared, the voice in my head isn't talking anymore, my ankle's injured and I have no idea where to go now! If I can reach whatever humanity you have in your heart, if you have it in the first place, please let me go!"

Next, he brought me closer, and solemnly stared into my eyes, "It… it can't be…" he stutters before falling to his knees and embracing me, "I've found you. I've finally found you… my daughter."

* * *

"Interesting," Nurse Joy says as she drops some noodles in the boiling water she has prepared, "So the rider thought you were his missing daughter?"

I respond, "Yeah, I guess." Then I quietly twiddle my thumbs as I continue, "It makes sense I guess. He must've died in the forest while searching for his daughter. And since I apparently resemble her so much, he mistook me for her."

"Intriguing," She responds quietly, as she carefully places two bowls and spoons in the sink, before turning the water on, and washing them, "Well, the soup's almost ready, so why don't you keep going?"

"Sure…" I say, as I think, _"Does she believe me? Why does she want to hear more?"_

* * *

"I'm sorry, but I'm not your daughter." I tried to say with a calm and comforting tone.

He carefully puts me down and just stares at me for a few seconds, "You are! You look exactly like her! You have to be my daughter! Please remember me, Sophia!"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not Sophia." I calmly said as I came closer to him, and placed my left arm on his shoulder, "How long have you been searching for her?"

"Years…" He answered, before getting up and continuing, "You have to remember me, Sophia! Please remember!"

I carefully get up and respond confidently, "I'm not Sophia, but I might be able to help you find her."

He stepped back in shock, "Please, help me find her… what's your name?"

"Mabel." I said as I took a sigh of relief as he answered, "Please help me find her… Mabel."

"I'm searching for the spring of dreams." I say, as I went closer to him, "The spring's power can bring you to Sophia."

He stood in shock for a few moments, before stuttering, "Really? How do we get to it? You have to tell me!"

I respond, "I'm on my way to Pollux's Staff. That thing is apparently able to show us where it is. Help me get to it, and in exchange I'll help you find your daughter."

All that the rider does in response is get on his horse, and motion for me to join him. I comply, and he pulls me up onto his unicorn, before whipping the reins. Then, he takes me down the path, the one that led to Pollux's Staff.

"My name is Ragin and my steed's name is Unicore." He said as he rode through the ice and snow as if it was clear ground.

It took us close to half an hour to reach the hexagonal-pad with three triangles arranged in a triangle, and a seal in the center. The seal is trapezoid-like, and has the same three triangles. The golden staff is buried in the seal and has a weird mirror at the top.

"We made it!" I yelled as I jumped off Unicore and ran over to the sealed staff. "Calm down, Mabel," Ragin yelled as he dismounted and followed me.

Then I excitedly attempted to pull the staff from its seal. To be honest, I was really surprised when the staff easily came out of it, sort of like it was supposed to be easy to take out or something. I mean, after everything that had happened to me, I expected like a test, a curse, or a defense mechanism of some sort.

I found out why the staff was so easy to take a few seconds later, when it started to glow a sickly purple, before releasing a wave of dark light into the forest. Immediately, hundreds of lost souls started to run towards me from every corner of the forest.

Yet, for some reason, they didn't enter the clearing where I was, but instead stood outside, as if waiting for me to return the staff or something.

I could feel something wasn't right. It was as if something evil and something powerful was near. And it seemed as if the lost souls felt… fearful of whatever was there.

And after several tense moments, a single lost soul entered the clearing.

All I could do was watch as the hundreds of souls surrounding the clearing took a single step back in fear.

He had an orange vest over a blue undershirt, grey shorts, orange socks with a white stripe at the top, white shoes with black soles. But what surprised me more was his white hat with a blue field that had a white pine tree on it. He was looking down, but I knew who the lost soul was.

"Di-Dipper?!"

20-8-5-18-5 9-19 2-5-1-21-20-25 9-14 13-25 6-9-18-5 23-8-5-14 1-12-12 9-18 4-1-18-11.

9 1-13 20-8-5 4-5-22-9-12 9-6 20-8-9-19 19-20-15-18-25, 1-14-4 9 23-9-12-12 3-1-18-20 20-8-5 23-15-18-12-4 9-14 13-25 6-12-1-13-5-19.

**A/N And that was chapter 7! As always review and stuff. Also, I redid and reposted chapter 6, it'd be awesome if you guys could tell me what you think about that too! And on a non-story note: I'm now my team's co-captain! (That means I'm second in charge!)**

**Disclaimer: Alex Hirsch owns GF, obviously.**


	8. Scepter

I… I just couldn't believe it. There he was, the person I was searching for was just a few short feet away from me.

"Di-Dipper… Is- is it really you?" I fell to my knees in confusion and disbelief, "But the fortune teller said."

Then I let the golden staff fall in front of me as I stared at the boy, "It… it can't be. This is too good to be true."

Everything I had done, all of my suffering, all of my misfortunes, all of my effort had finally paid off. He may have been a lost soul, but he was still my brother.

So after the shock had worn off, I jumped up and ran at the lost soul, before embracing the ghastly figure in the tightest hug I could muster as I shouted, "I've finally found you Dipper!" in the most excited voice I had.

The spirit returned my embrace, and I calmly leaned into it. I felt like my adventure was over, and that I could finally return home with Dipper.

That's when the figure leaned over to my ear and whispered, "And now you shall join us traveller." Before gaining a purple aura around its body and turning into a mist-like dark spirit.

I wasn't able to break free in time, and almost got pulled inside the spirit's abyss of a body.

But luckily, Ragin was nearby and came to the rescue.

"No, Mabel!" he shouted as he jumped and cut the mist spirit in two, using his jet-black sword.

Then, he pulled me from what was left of the dark spirit, before jumping towards the seal.

It wasn't long before the ghostly figure reformed, only this time, it was more terrifying.

Instead of looking like my brother with inverted colors, it now looked like a blue dragon-like monster that had metal claws attached to its arms with leather belts. For some reason it had leather pants and cowboy boots also attached to its body by leather straps.

Yet, the most terrifying and… interesting, I think that's how I should describe it, thing he wore, was the same mirror as the staff's, albeit tied to its chest by four chains.

"You shall not escape me! I am Exa! The guardian of the sacred seal!" The creature screamed in a feminine voice as she extended her back fins. Then she glared at us, before charging at us like a wild bull, and attempting to pounce on us.

I'll be honest, if it wasn't for Ragin, it would've been over for me right then and there. He quickly dropped me on the seal and jumped, countering Exa's assault, and sending her flying back.

"I will not let you harm her!" He defiantly screamed as he drew his jet-black blade and swung at the draconic creature, but the monster just tauntingly laughed as it calmly dodged his attacks.

Then Exa used her hook-like claws to grab Ragin's sword and rip it out of his hands, "Ha you are pathetic!" she mused, "Admit it lost human, you don't stand a chance against me!"

"I'm not as pathetic as you take me for." Ragin responded as he tried roundhouse kicked Exa. Yet the dragon saw his attack coming and used her claws to grab Ragin's leg and flip him over with ease.

"Ha, you should know better than to attempt that, Fabled one." Exa taunted as she picked Ragin's sword off the snowy ground, "Now I shall send you to the next world!"

And with a single movement, Exa impaled Ragin with his own, ghostly sword.

"Ragin! No!" I screamed.

Then, Exa glared at me and stood up straight with her eyes looking towards the heavens as she roared, "Catastor's claws!" Causing the mirror on her chest to glow red and white.

The light engulfed her body, turning the simple, hook-like metal claws she wore into golden pincers attached to his arms by metallic gauntlets, "Now it is your turn to meet your fate, traveler."

She menacingly strolled over to me, as if she knew of the fear that it would bring.

As she stepped closer and closer to me, I couldn't help but step back like the scared little child I was. At that point, I thought for sure it was game over for me.

Exa towered over me with her strong build and menacing stance, so much so that I fell on my ass as I fearfully stepped away. I was so desperate to get away that I started to the move as fast as I possibly could with my frozen hands and injured legs.

"Now you shall join the lost!" Exa screamed as she raised her golden claws.

_"It's over, I've failed you, Dipper." _The thought of failing after everything I had done was almost unbearable. So as Exa hovered over me, getting ready to deliver my execution, I closed my eyes and balled up with my face buried in my knees.

"Don't give up that easily, Mabel! You can still get through this!" Anima's voice broke through my panicked thoughts.

"Is that you Anima?" I spoke aloud.

Exa suddenly stopped and just stared at me.

"Yeah Mabel, it's me. How have you been holding up?"

"Where the hell have you been?! I could have used your 'help' eons ago!" I screamed at the annoying voice in my head.

"Oh really?" Anima casually asked, "What'd I miss?"

That's when Exa loosened her stance and turned to the lost souls circling the clearing, before gesturing at me. They responded by just shrugging.

"You've missed a shitton!" I screamed, "But I don't have time to tell you right now. So what the heck can I possibly do to save myself?"

I felt Anima think for a moment before answering, "If you could somehow get the staff, you might be able to use it to defeat Exa."

"Easier said than done Anima! How do you expect me to get it?! You know, with its guardian about to kill me!" I screamed as my freezing body trembled in fear. That's when I realized something, "I've been talking aloud all along, haven't I?"

The blue dragon quickly hardened its stance and responded, "Yes, yes you have."

Then, she quickly raised her golden claws, before attempting to impale me with them.

It would've been over for me in a split second, if it wasn't Ragin's loyal steed coming to the rescue.

I was shocked when it happened. It felt like everything slowed down just so I could comprehend how lucky I was.

Unicore tackled Exa, sending both of them flying over the seal, and causing Exa to graze my right arm with her left claw; causing the three big gashes you saw when you were binding my wounds.

That's when I saw my chance. I used whatever little strength I had left to force myself up and to grab the golden rod.

I held Pollux's staff in my hands and concentrated as hard as I possibly could, "Come on, do something! I have to save Dipper and myself! I need this to work!"

But, nothing happened. It was as if the staff was just a random stick of metal someone decided to hide in the forest.

* * *

"So, what were you thinking at that point?" Nurse Joy asks as she goes into an overhead cabinet and pulls out a cutting board.

I glance at what she's doing, before responding, "I was terrified and confused. Why would Anima tell me to grab the staff when it could do anything? And why did she speak up right there?!"

She carefully opens the small fridge and sticks her head inside, "It sounds like Anima thought the staff could help you, but she didn't know how. Then again… Anima doesn't seem like the type to say something without knowing what was going to happen, or the type to actually be useful when she needs to be."

"I thought the same thing Joy, I thought the exact same thing. I wondered why Anima told me to grab something that seemed completely useless. And I panicked because that was all I had to defend myself with." I turn my head to look at what she is doing.

"Interesting…" Joy says in a disappointed tone, "Hey Mabel, is ok if I use lamb instead of chicken in the soup? We don't have any chicken to dice up."

I calmly answer, "Yeah, it's fine." As I turn away and start to tear up a bit.

"So Mabel, would you like to continue or would you rather take a break?" Joy politely asks as she brings the cutting board and a lamb chop over and takes the seat opposite me.

I just intently stare at her knife as she starts dicing the piece of thick meat into small cubes.

"Mabel, you ok?" Joy says, snapping me out of my trance.

I nod, "Yeah, I'll continue, just… you know what, nevermind."

* * *

All I could do was watch as Exa violently stabbed Unicore with her golden claws, before throwing the injured unicorn next to me.

"Your protectors are dead, and now I shall cleanse the sacred seal of your dirt!" Exa screamed as she turned to me and stared me straight in my terrified eyes.

Then she roared once more, causing the mirror on her chest to glow bright orange, engulfing her body in light.

When it died down, Exa was covered in stone. The mirror on her chest was gone, yet the chains remained, albeit now attached to the stone decoration around her neck. Her once golden gauntlets were now made of stone, and her leather pants was armored with the brown rock. She now had a stone belt held together by an orange orb.

Yet, the most frightening thing about her now, was the fact that her gauntlets and tail were on fire.

"I am the flame beast of this shrine! Your end has come traveler!" She roared as silver wings sprouted from her back.

I held up the staff in response, hoping that it would somehow protect me from Exa's next attack, but deep down I knew that it was pointless.

Then Exa flew up, before rushing down to kill me from a flaming tackle.

So in my desperation I cried out, "Please someone, help me!" and I guess someone heard me, because the mirror on top of the staff began to glow, engulfing me in purple light.

It was so bright that I was forced to shut my eyes.

* * *

"What was it like? You know, being engulfed in the light." Nurse Joy asks as she carefully dices another piece of the lamb.

I respond by looking away, "It was weird. It was like time had just stopped. It was like I finally had a chance to breathe, even if it was for a few short moments."

"So, you've felt constricted throughout your journey?" Nurse Joy asks as she carefully cuts around the meat's bone.

"Yeah. Up until that point, I had had very few chances to just sit down and rest. I guess, despite the fact that I was about to die, rest was still a welcome relief."

Joy perks up a bit, "So what happened next?"

And for some reason I perk up too, "So next, I took a deep breath."

* * *

And tried to open my eyes.

It was hard and I struggled a bit, but I managed, and what I saw completely surprised me.

Exa had reverted to her original form and was on the ground a few feet in front of me. A few seconds after that, I noticed Unicore's dead body was gone.

That's when I realized what I was wearing.

Instead of my torn jacket and soaked clothes, I was wearing white armor. It was soft, yet felt strong enough to protect me from anything.

I now had purple stockings and white boots decorated with spikes. My white tunic was decorated with brown trim and was secured to my body by a brown leather rope, which also secured a red fabric around my waist, making a small skirt. I also somehow had a tail… hopefully a butt plug wasn't involved.

My arms were protected by metal gauntlets on my lower arms, and by the tunic on the upper.

My hair had gained a purple hue and I wore a black helmet decorated with Unicore's horn and golden markings. Yet, despite all the changes, something remained, my scarf. It stayed tied around my neck, and secured a purple cape to my body.

In my left hand was a spear decorated with a point at the back end, and a golden brace; the top end broke off to become a trident, connected to the pure white pole by the golden and purple mirror that was part of the staff.

"Whoa, this feels awesome!" Being in that armor felt great. It was like all of my injures were nothing and like all of my physical limits were removed.

I felt strong enough to do anything, including fight Exa.

* * *

"So what did you do?" Nurse Joy asks, rudely cutting me off.

I stare at her for a few moments while I think, "_Wow! Did you just cut me off at one the most important parts of my story, just to ask that stupid question?"_

And I honestly want to say those exact words to her, but I think for a second, and realize that if this Nurse's self esteem is as low as I think it is, she might break down in tears if I scream at her.

Heh, I have to admit though, she's still easier to talk to than Blubs.

So I soften my expression, and calmly answer, "I did what any sane person would do, at least if they were in my position. I raised my spear, and readied myself for what I expected to come next."

* * *

Exa slowly pulled herself out of the snow and barely looked at me before gritting her teeth and roaring, "You have defiled the Sacred Staff! Now you must pay, so I may cleanse this place of your unclean presence!"

Then she roared again, causing the mirror on her chest to glow orange again, causing her to take the flaming form once again.

"Now die! Scorching crimson flare!" She roared as flames engulfed her stone gauntlets before she fired a stream of flames at me.

My response was to raise my new trident and start twirling it with my hands, as I defiantly yelled, "Unicorn shield!" and immediately, the spear glowed green and created an energy shield, protecting me from the flames.

That's when everything started to blur a bit. It was like I was losing control over my actions, but then again, I guess you have to let some of yourself go it you have to fight a foe.

So before you ask, I did fight Exa.

I forced the flames out of my way and stared Exa down for moment, before I began my counter attack.

I jumped at Exa and screamed, "Lightning Sword Flash!" And in an instant my trident was covered in green and purple lightning, before I hurled it at Exa.

"What is this?!" Exa screamed as she shielded herself from my trident, "You have defiled this sacred staff for the last time!"

She stabbed the trident into the ground, before charging at me with her flaming body.

I barely had a chance to respond, and when I did I felt like I was letting someone else take over for a split second.

"Lightning Thunder Sword!" I screamed, and as if it were Thor's hammer, my trident forced itself from the ground and covered itself in purple lightning as it sped back to my hand.

Yet, Exa saw it coming, and flew up to dodge the flying weapon.

The next part is a complete blur. All I remember next was I forcing Exa away and charging the trident somehow.

And before I realized what had happened, I had impaled Exa with the trident.

After I realized where I was again, I let go of the spear and fell to my knees, but it wasn't over yet. Not by a long shot.

"You have forced my hand, traveler!" Exa roared as my trident simply phased through her body and she reverted to his original form.

"Now you shall taste the true might the guardian of the sacred seal!" She roared as the mirror on his chest engulfed his body in white and blue light.

And when he emerged, she was no longer Exa.

She was now a massive dragon covered in ice. Even her new wings were made of the stuff. He now had three heads, one where you'd expect and the other two acted as his arms.

She roared, "I am Trishula! I am the most powerful dragon of the Ice Barrier! You shall perish in my freezing breath!"

_"Oh my god! She's not hot anymore!"_ I thought, before picking up my trident and taunting, "Attempt at a badass boast much?"

"Trident of the ice barrier!" She roared, before charging three orbs of pure ice in her mouth.

I responded by defiantly charging my trident with, "Lightning stardust strike!"

"Meet the end traveller!" Trishula roared as she fired her attack and I counted with my own. Yet, my attack was not enough, and it would've been over for me right there, if it wasn't for Ragin.

Ragin had used the last of his strength to shove me out of the way and confront Trishula.

"I will not let you harm my daughter, Trishula." He yelled as defiantly as he could, as he weakly held his bloody blade.

"So be it, "Storm of the Ice Barrier!" Trishula now charged her entire body for this blast, before focusing the beams of light through her three mouths and into a triangle-shaped blast of light. Most would be terrified of the site and try to run away.

Yet, Ragin defiantly stood.

Then in a single movement, he grabbed my trident and cried out, "Dragunity Divine Lance Strike!"

I watched as Ragin's bloodstained sword and my trident merged into a powerful lance, with the end point connected to the colorful, almost-living pole by the mirror.

At that point Ragin looked at me with a pleading look, as if he knew what he was about to do and was begging me to rescue his daughter for him.

Then, he hurled the lance.

It's power cut through Trishula's attack and impaled the icy dragon straight through the chest.

That's when the armor I was wearing shocked me, and dissipated straight off my body; leaving me with the same scars, cuts, and bruises I had before I donned it, along with a few more from Exa and Trishula's attacks.

I was in so much pain that I could barely stand on my own feet and open my eyes, let alone see the fate of Ragin and Trishula.

And so, I rolled on my back, and passed out from the pain. I have been doing that a lot haven't I?

20-8-5 19-1-3-18-5-4 19-5-1-12 8-1-19 2-5-5-14 2-18-15-11-5-14 1-14-4 20-8-5 6-9-14-1-12 16-9-5-3-5 8-1-19 2-5-5-14 18-5-12-5-1-19-5-4

13-25 22-5-14-7-5-1-14-3-5 9-19 14-9-7-8

**A/N So guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope it was worth the wait! This took forever to write and summer's already starting to get to me. I'll try to work on this more, but I can't promise anything as of yet.**

**Also, I managed to get this done before Monday, awesome!**

**Disclaimer: Alex Hirsch owns Gravity Falls, Blah, Blah, Blah, I can't make this phrase interesting.**


	9. Redemption

"You really have Mabel. I honestly am starting to think that every time you pass out or something; it's supposed to act like a small transition of sorts." Nurse Joy says as she gets up and brings the freshly chopped lamb over to the already preheated oven.

"Anyway, the soup will be ready as soon as the lamb is cooked, so why don't you continue 'till it's done? Then we can eat some dinner."

I sigh and respond, "Ok Nurse Joy, I woke up the next morning to absolute silence. I guess Anima had gotten used to me getting knocked out so often, that she just waited for me to wake up this time. While making sure "

* * *

*Ugh* I groaned as I forced myself out of the cold snow. _"Thanks Anima,"_ I thought, _"I would probably have frostbite, hypothermia and some other random disease that only a trained doctor would know how to pronounce if you weren't protecting me."_

The voice in my head excitedly responded, "No problem Mabel!"

I immediately rubbed the back of my aching head. It felt as if someone had taken a mallet and pin and was slowly jamming the damned thing into my skull.

As you could expect, I really didn't want to move much but for some reason, I had the urge to keep going. It was like someone was making sure that my mission was the only thing I could think of. Sure it could've been my determination, but I'm not sure.

_"What are you so excited about Anima?" _I thought as I took a handful of snow in my left hand, and pressed it against my temple, _"And why does my head hurt so much?"_

If Anima had a body, I would've expected her to shrug as she said, "I don't know why your head hurts Mabel. I guess it must be a side effect of using the armor." Then her voice perked up as she continued, "And I'm excited because you got the mirror!"

_"Mirror?"_ I curiously thought, _"What mirror?"_

"Look around silly! You managed to get the mirror from the staff!" She cheerfully answered.

I slowly looked around the now empty clearing and eventually, my eyes came to rest on a small object buried in the snow. So despite the pounding headache I had, I waddled through the snow over to it and pulled it out with my one free hand.

It was a simple, light blue plane of glass decorated with a golden border engraved with enchant runes, before a navy blue outline that made it seem like it had sideways horns at the top. The two horn-like structures were joined with a purple jewel that was connected to the main mirror by the blue outline, and a golden crust. On the bottom of it were two unconnected half-blades and two claw-like protrusions on both sides. The two blue ones were larger and connected to the main body of the mirror, while the smaller, gold claws were connected to the underside of the majestic mirror.

Yet, the most mysterious thing about the mirror was that when I looked into it's vibrant glass there seemed to be a shadowy figure lurking just below the surface. Whenever it took shape, it had a bird-like head, with two, rounded wings, and three talons; two smaller ones on sides and one large one directly under the beak; the beak and the talons were all pointing inwards, as if it was preparing to unleash a powerful blast.

"Is this it? Is this what I was after Anima?"

Anima ecstatically answered, "Yep!"

I wanted to smile and laugh and cheer, but my head hurt so much that I just couldn't respond. So what did I do? I dropped my arm and started walking in a random direction while dragging the mirror in the snow.

"Umm Mabel, are you ok?" Anima asked with a hint of concern in her voice, "Something tells me you're not okay."

*Groan* I didn't respond – I just couldn't answer her. *Ugh*

I was only able to take a single step after that, before I fell to the ground and blacked out again.

* * *

"Mabel…" Nurse Joy asks in an extremely concerned voice as she turns to me, "Are you sure you didn't bang your head on anything before you passed out last time?"

I nodded, "Positive."

"Are you sure? Because I don't have the equipment require to treat extreme head injures here." Her voice became even more concerned.

"Yeah."

She continues, "So do you at least know what was causing your painful headache?"

I shake my head, "Sadly I don't. Anyways, after blacking out again…"

* * *

I found myself floating in a completely white space this time. There was nothing around me… for a few, short moments.

Suddenly, I started hearing whispers that kept repeating, "The seal is broken, the seal is broken, she is free, she is free." Before the silhouette of a massive, shadowy, dragon-like figure appeared above me. It roared at me, and all I was able to do was try to block as the beast consumed me.

That's when I woke up, to the sound of Anima panicking again.

"Mabel? Mabel! Mabel!" she cried.

*Ugh* "Anima, what happened?" I asked as I forced myself out of the snow again, and picked up the mirror.

"You passed out," She answered, "and you mentioned something about having a bad headache, so I was really worried... are you ok now Mabel?"

I wiped the wet snow off my head, "Yeah, I think so at least." Then I looked around the empty clearing for anything of interest, but it was completely empty. Heck, even the pad and the lost souls were gone. I sighed and asked, "Hey Anima, what do you want me to do next?"

"Are you sure your pounding headache is gone?"

"Yeah," I lied, "I'm fine, just tell me what you want me to do now." Though most of my pounding headache had subsided, it still felt like someone was pressing on my skull.

"Ok Mabel…" She had a tone of unease as she continued, "So I guess you just need to find the spring of dreams now."

I held my pounding head as I started walking forward unquestioningly. I honestly wanted to ask her which way to go, but my head hurt too much for me to ask.

With my free hand I dragged the mirror in the snow.

I walked for hours upon hours, all while fighting off my hunger and thirst. It was painful- most people would've been broken by that point. Yet I fought through, until Anima decided to finally break the silence.

"Hey Mabel, do you know where you're going?" She curiously asked.

"Nope." I answered awkwardly, "I just assumed that I was walking in the right direction since you weren't saying anything."

*Sigh* "God damn it Mabel," She sounded slightly annoyed, though I don't blame her, "Umm… ok, if you're going to find the spring umm..."

I continued to hold my head as I looked around and thought, "I guess this is a good a place to use as a camp for a bit."

Then I dropped whatever was left of my pack and took a seat on a nearby log.

"Anima, it's getting dark out; what do you want me to do?" I asked as I rummaged through the few supplies I had left.

After everything that had happened, I was left with a near-empty bag. The only things I had left were a few frozen fruit cups, a frozen medium-sized bottle of water, and strangely the only thing not frozen, my grappling hook.

"I don't remember shoving this in here…" I thought as I holstered the gun in the bag's side pocket, "What happened while I was out?"

No answer.

*Sigh* "Hopefully my torn jacket and sweater are enough to keep me warm tonight" Then I lied down on the log, closed my eyes, and went to sleep.

* * *

"Did you at least sleep well that night?" Nurse Joy asks as she cleans out an orange bowl in the sink, most likely where she's going to pour the soup later.

I sigh again, "No, if you could even call what I was doing sleep."

* * *

_**"Maabel." **_A familiar voice whispered, _**"Come on, wake up."**_

*Ugh* I groaned as I picked myself up and rubbed my aching head, _"Who are you?"_

No answer.

_"Why am I not surprised?"_ I thought as I moved my body upright and looked around.

The full moon loomed over the dark forest I was in, illuminating the pitch-black night with its milky glow. And though it seemed unlikely, there seemed to be dim mist covering the ground.

_"I guess I should try to get some more sleep…"_ I thought as I placed my hands on the long and crawled up in a fetal position.

_**"Mabel!"**_ The voice desperately cried, _**"The mirror!"**_

I immediately got up and answered, "What?!"

_**"The mirror Mabel! Use the mirror!"**_ It demanded, the voice getting seemingly more desperate.

That's when the weirdest thing happened. The mirror… it started to glow. It was like it was calling for me, _"What the…"_ Was the only thing I could think of as I grabbed for the glowing object.

"_**Raise the mirror to the moon!"**_ The voice seemed to calm down a bit, _**"And it will guide you!"**_

So following its orders, I took the mirror in my hands and looked into its light-blue glass. It seemed to glow even brighter as I gazed into it, before I raised it up as high as I could.

Then, then Mirror glowed so bright that it lit up the entire area as it released a single ray of light into the forest ahead of me.

"Hey Mabel! I'm baaack!" Anima declared, "Did anything happen while I was gone?"

_"Yeah, some voice came along and told me to raise the mirror to the moon. And when I did, the mirror sent out this beam of light into the forest."_ I thought as I motioned to the beam of light ahead of me.

If she had a body, I would've expected Anima to be in awe when she said, "Wow Mabel. I think you should follow it."

"What?" I said aloud.

She calmly answered, "Start moving, something like this doesn't last too long, so I think you should follow it while you still can. Besides, what have you got to lose?"

*Sigh* "I guess you're right Anima." I thought as I grabbed the few supplies I had left, and started following the line.

That's when Anima started to sing, "Led through the mist, by the milk-light of moon…"

It started to really creep me out, but I didn't stop her. It was like I couldn't stop her, "All that was lost, is revealed."

"Our long bygone burdens, mere echoes of the spring." She continued, her voice getting more hopeless, "But where have we come?"

Then her voice gained a bit of solemnity, "And where we end?" And with that she went quiet. I wanted to ask her what the song meant, but for some reason I just couldn't bring myself to do so.

So I just kept my mouth shut and kept walking through the mist and snow.

While I followed the line, I had expected to be attacked by another lost soul, but this time.

It was really weird; I hadn't expected this of all paths to be so easy to traverse. Heck, my headache even cleared up!

Yet despite the unnerving calm, I did have a nagging feeling that I was being watched.

The light led me to one of the mountains that dotted the outskirts of Gravity Falls, before breaking off and shooting up at a ninety-degree angle.

_"I guess I have to climb up."_ I thought as I secured the mirror my bag, before grabbing a protruding rock. Then with my free hand I grabbed another and pulled myself up. Thank god that the rock face wasn't too steep, or else I doubt I would've been able to climb it; if you could even call what I was doing climbing. It was more like I was crawling uphill while using rocks as a way to prevent myself from rolling down.

It took about an hour or two for me to reach the top and catch up to the glowing line. And though it was nighttime, in the distance I could see a dim light coming from up ahead. That's how I knew I had reached the summit.

Suddenly, the tired feeling I had been ignoring my whole trip finally caught up to me. I was so tired that I could barely keep my eyes open, let alone continue walking. But, to reach the spring I did my best to rub it off.

That's when I heard him, the guardian of the Spring of Dreams. He was singing as if something had made him excited.

Unluckily for me, the guiding line ended right where I heard him. It was like I was being issued one final test before I reached the spring.

I wanted to ask for Anima's advice, but for some reason I just couldn't bring myself to do so. Instead, I thought for a moment, before realizing exactly what I had to do.

So, I closed my eyes, and let the song guide me.

"Come lost spirits, who wander in the darkness. What you have lost shall be found! Your pain and suffering shall be repaid, when you surrender to the light of the seal!"

It was odd… like he was calling to not just me, but to all of the lost souls in the forest.

I followed the song and before long, I found myself at the gate leading to the spring; the final thing standing between the spring and me.

"Ahh, you came." The guardian said when I approached, "I knew I sensed someone nearby. Why have you come, traveller?"

I mustered all of the courage I had to answer him, "My name is Mabel Pines! And I have come for the spring of dreams!"

The man turned to me as he answered, "Then on guard lost one! If you wish to enter the spring, then you must defeat me!"

He was a young man, he looked like he was in his mid-20's. He wore an extremely plain, blue cloak with golden trim where the two halves met. He had a silver helmet decorted with golden, trident-like horns and had a white orb embedded in his chest. He had a torn purple scarf around his neck and angel-like wings on his back.

Yet, the most menacing thing about him, were the numerous blades attached to his body. Heck, he was even using a bronze one as a belt-buckle to hold his cloak together.

"My name is Zefrasaber! And I am the sword master of the sacred seal!" He declared as he raised a simple light-blue sword and threw out a chain-like set of blades, "No lost shall pass through this sacred gate!"

Then he began his assault.

He started by whipping the chain in an attempt to grab and cut me at the same time. Luckily for me, I was able to jump out of the way just before it hit. Then he charged at me with his sword to try and stab me.

"Mabel!" Anima screamed.

"Yeah Anima?!" I thought as I jumped and rolled over another sword swing.

"You have to get past him somehow! You're so close to the spring!" She said with a concerned tone in her voice.

But, before I could answer her, his chain-like blade wrapped around my already injured ankle. Its tiny blades dug into my think pants and cut me.

Zefrasaber immediately used the chain to throw me around, before finally forcing my mangled body into the snow and unchaining me.

"Time to send you to the next world, lost one." He sadistically muttered as he approached my injured body.

I closed my eyes out of fear.

Yet, just before he dealt the finishing blow to me, he paused. If was like he was intrigued by something at the last second.

"You are not a lost spirit are you? You are a mortal." He calmly whispered.

"No! I'm not!" I answered in a terrified voice.

"Then return to your home lost one and never return! It would be a shame if I had to end you." He commanded, "None shall enter the sacred sprin-ugh!"

Suddenly, a shadowy mist enveloped Zefrasaber, causing him to freeze in place for a second, before the blades attached to his armor broke off, floated for a second, turned and impaled his body. He was only able to spit out, "What the…" before falling to the ground in a pool of crimson blood.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that he was dead.

"Anima! What the heck was that?!" I screamed as I moved away from the dead body in fear.

"I- I don't know." She responded, seemingly just as surprised as I was, "I- I guess you shouldn't let it bother you right now. Whatever that was could be after you next."

"O-Ok." That was all I could respond, as I forced my injured body out of the snow, and limped passed the clear gates and into the beautiful sanctuary where the spring was.

It was a beautiful sight. It was a medium-sized clearing with the spring on a slightly raised mound. Pine trees covered and concealed the entire clearing, making it as if it were a single protected room. Despite the fact that it was still night, a cylinder of light beamed from the area above the spring, lighting up the clearing and giving the spring water a white glow. And though it was freezing cold, the spring water was nice and warm.

"So what do I do now?" I asked the voice in my head and she answered me in an excited voice, "Put the mirror in the spring's light, and wish for Dipper to come back!"

And so I followed her and looked into the mirror as I placed the golden and purple mirror in the light.

I had expected it to immediately fall into the water, but no, instead it floated there, as if waiting for someone to command it.

Then I whispered, "I wish for the safe return of my brother! Dipper Pines!"

The mirror immediately reacted by glowing gold. Its glow engulfed the entire spring, forcing me to shut my eyes.

And when I opened them again, Dipper's body was floating above the mirror; his eyes were closed and his arms were outstretched, as if trying to slow his descent. He was wearing the same thing he usually wore, except for his signature hat.

I was filled with Joy! It was like just seeing him again took the weight of the journey off of my shoulders.

But then, seemingly out of nowhere, a shadowy mist came from the forest and engulfed Dipper's body.

"Anima! What's happening?!" I screamed.

No answer.

Then, when the darkness dissipated, Dipper opened his eyes and glared at me.

"Di-Dipper?" I shakily asked.

He responded in a sadistic, feminine voice, "You gave me a chance to make up for everything I've done, Mabel."

"What?" I took a single step back in fear, "A- Anima?"

"And I'm grateful." They calmly continued, "But you never knew that,"

I was paralyzed with fear at that point, I couldn't believe what was unfolding right before my eyes.

"Redemption was never really my thing."

3-15-13-5 20-8-15-21 23-1-25-23-1-18-4 19-16-9-18-9-20. 3-15-13-5 1-14-4 18-5-1-16 20-8-25 18-5-23-1-18-4. 6-15-18 25-15-21 8-1-22-5 18-5-12-5-1-19-5-4 13-5 6-18-15-13 13-25 16-18-9-19-15-14 1-14-4 7-9-22-5-14 13-5 1 3-8-1-14-3-5 1-20 18-5-22-5-14-7-5.

**A/N Hey guys, I hope this was worth the wait. I would've had this done earlier, but summer and a trip to the ER said otherwise. As usual R&amp;R.**

**C'est le disclaimer! Je ne possède pas Gravity Falls!**


	10. Rise

"Redemption was never really my thing, redemption…" I start to tear up, "The whole time, she never cared about redemption. She was only in it for the power the spring could give her!"

Then my tears turn to rage as I slam my fist on the old wooden table, leaving a dent in the old oak, "She didn't want me to succeed at all! All she cared about was getting to the spring, and if I died along the way she would've been happy! It was a win-win for her!"

All Nurse Joy does in response is watch with a surprised look on her face. It's like she's trying to hide the fact that she doesn't know whether or not to respond to my anger.

I glare at her for being so unsure of herself, "Then, just to show that she didn't want redemption, she took over Dipper's body! I just couldn't believe it!" I scream, "She stole Dipper from me, when I was so close to getting him back!"

"You mean…" Nurse Joy starts as she pours some lamb soup into a medium-sized bowl, "You mean that she took Dipper from you, right in front of your very eyes?"

I nod and continue, "Then she…"

* * *

She looked at me with a sadistic grin, before screaming, "And now, my vengeance is nigh!" Then she moved Dipper's hands down, before quickly raising them and declaring, "With the power of this sacred mirror I build the sacred kaleidoscope!"

Then, the mirror started to glow dark blue, before cracking and shattering, its pieces scattering around the spring.

"Rise crystals of the ice barrier!" She commanded, "And create the sacred triangle of ice!"

Then those glass-like shards dug themselves into the ground as a dark aura each and every one.

The shards began to grow, from just a tiny fracture from a small mirror, into fist-sided crystals protruding from the ground.

"Release!" She demanded, "I call upon the power of my darkness, and the dark light of this sacred spring; Sacred Magical Triangle of Ice, dispel your former light and draw your power from the darkness of the lost!"

The spring water turned murky black, and the cylinder of light above it began to dissipate, as Anima continued, "Through the power of the broken seal, I command you! Release and Dispel! Sacred Kaleidoscope!"

All I could do was stand back in awe and fear, as the light above the spring fragmented and split into hundreds of streams, that each hit a single crystal.

"Come forth and grant me your power oh sacred dragon. The most powerful of your kind!" Then an icy fog crept in from the forest, "Trishula! Trident of the ice barrier! Destroyer of worlds! Dragon of time! Release and grant me your strength!"

*Roar*

A silhouette of the massive dragon appeared behind Anima-Dipper, "Trishula! Release and Dispel!" Anima commanded, and the massive beast disappeared, as the light of the crystals focused on her. A few seconds passed, before an icy helmet appeared in front of her, sitting on a small pillar of ice and snow.

It wasn't much design-wise, It was shaped Trishula's main head, but with a hollowed-out underside, and protrusions coming from its sides.

"Finally." She whispered as she grabbed the helmet and immediately put it on Dipper's head, "After all these years, I shall finally have my revenge!"

Then she began to chant even more! I was starting to wonder if should be afraid or annoyed!

"Oh sacred armor of Trishula, give me your strength. Empower this vessel with your might as you draw your power from the shadows!"

As she did that, the helmet began to grow around Dipper's body. First it expanded to cover his body with skin-tight navy blue suit, before icy crystals began to form around his chest, shins, arms and back.

That's when the main body of the armor attached itself to Dipper, giving him a crystal-like white chest plate with spikes poking out on the shoulder plates.

The body half of his legs were protected by ice, before his now draconic feet. He now had Trishula's side heads attached to his arms like gauntlets, while his hands gained dragon-like claws on his knuckles.

Then she gained Trishula's Icy wings and icy tail. And that's when Anima opened her eyes and roared as if she really were Trishula.

The final piece of her transformation was the icy sword; the sacred mirror that shattered minutes earlier suddenly appeared in front of her. But this time, it had a short, purple handle extending from the bottom.

When she grabbed it, it gained a dark aura and a blade made of crystal-like ice grew out from the top of the mirror.

"Mabel…" She growled, "Thank you for helping me, for if it were not for your help I wouldn't control the power of ice, Trishula!" Then she pointed the sword at me, "But alas, you must die!"

Then the sword gained an icy aura around it, before Anima swung, releasing a wave of cold air at me.

* * *

Nurse Joy uses a silver ladle to scoop the newly finished soup into a small porcelain bowl, "Trishula… why does that name seem familiar?"

"I don't know, but what I do know is that I was terrified." I say.

She brings the soup over and places it in front of me, "Well, if you want to keep telling your story, feel free to do so. It's time to get you to eat, I don't want to send you anywhere with an empty stomach."

I nod, "Fine…" I take the silver spoon and dip it in the brown soup. I give the liquid a small blow before shoving the warm substance in my mouth.

It's delicious, warm, and honestly the best thing I've eaten all week. Tears fill my eyes as I cry, "Thank you nurse Joy, thank you!"

"Are you sure it's any good? I mean, I don't think I did-"

I cut her off, "This is the best thing I've had in a long while. And after everything I've been through, this is the nicest thing you could've done for me."

She gives me a calm half-smile as she pulls out the notebook and starts writing down more notes.

"Aren't you going to eat?" I ask as I scoop more soup and eat.

She suddenly pauses, before putting the notebook on the table closed, and getting up, "Oh my, I forgot to get some for myself didn't I?" She embarrassingly asks.

I jokingly nod as the pink-haired nurse walks over to the stove, grabs another bowl, and pours herself some lamb soup. Then she walks back and takes her seat across from me.

"Hey Mabel, why don't you tell me a little about yourself. All you've talked about since you came here is your story."

I hesitate for a second, "I just don't think I've done much to talk about."

"Oh come on Mabel," She says with a surprised tone, "You've had to have done something besides search for Dipper for the past year and a half!"

I shake my head, "Nope, everyday after school I searched the forest. I didn't have much time for friends. Candy and Grenda understood why I couldn't hang out with them anymore; I hope they did at least. Grunkle Stan knew why I had to search, he did the same for his twin brother for 30 years!"

Her eyes open wide and she leans forward, "So you mean you've done nothing, but search? Did anyone ever go with you on your trips?"

I sake my head, "I preferred to search alone so that nothing would be able to distract me from finding Dipper. Now spill, who are you?"

She sits back in her chair, before sighing, "My name is Paige Joy, I was born and raised in a really far away place."

I tilt my head in curiosity.

"My old sister and mother were really overprotective of me, so I just spent my days reading, studying, and the like. I was homeschooled, and left town to go to college. I wanted to see the world outside of my region, so I decided to follow the rest of my family and go to medical school to become a nurse. And after some soul searching, abandonment by my family, and getting lost in the woods; I ended up here."

"That's it?" I say with a slightly annoyed tone.

"Umm… yes…" She whispers with a meek tone.

I look at her with a bored expression, "Friends? Did you do anything besides study and stay?"

She shakes her head in response.

*Sigh* "You remind me of Dipper. He loved to study." I take another spoonful in my mouth, and swallow the tasty soup, _"If she were younger, I'd expect her to be a heavy internet user."_

Nurse Joy does the same and a few moments of silence pass between us.

Then, she decides to break the silence, "So what happened next?"

I stop eating, and just stare into the bowl half-filled with vegetables and lamb chops. I let tears run down my cheeks as I grit my teeth.

"I'm sorry Mabel… We can wait- I mean you don't have to tell me yet if don't want to…" Joy stutters

"Calm down Nurse." I wipe the tears from my cheeks, "I'm crying because of what happens next."

* * *

When Anima sent that wave I thought it would be the end, but thankfully somebody had different plans.

"Gem-knight shield!" A familiar voice cried, and a pink shield with a magenta gem in the center appeared in front of me. It was surrounded by three, petal-like protrusions and a single cord covered thorns. A glowing, white boarder surrounded the entirety of the shield.

And the person holding the shield up was the boy I had been searching for.

"Dipper!" I cried, "You're alive!"

He smiled at me, "Hey Mabel, you miss me?"

I had to tears in my eyes as I got up and ran for him.

But, before I could get to him, he glowed bright white light, and engulfed me in it.

I found myself floating in a starry place, yet unlike before, Dipper was standing in front of me with joyful eyes. And h8e wasn't wearing inverted colors this time either.

"Dipper! Is it really you?!" I cried.

He nodded, and I had to stop myself from pouncing, "How do I know it's really you?"

"I was afraid you'd ask that." Dipper then snapped his fingers, and with a poof and a cloud of smoke, Dipper was in a white lamb costume with a pretty pink bow.

"Well!" he started, "Who wants a lamby, lamby, lamby?" before pointing to me,

I was stunned for a moment, but I still whispered, "I do, I do…"

"So go up and greet your mammy, mammy, mammy!"

"Hi there, hi there…" I even did a little wave as he said that.

"So march, march around the daisies!" he took large steps to mimic marching.

I gave him the biggest smile I could muster when I finished, "Don't, don't, don't you forget about the babies!"

I didn't wait for him to take off that adorable suit. When he finished the dance I pounced on him, "Dipper! It really is you! Where have you been all this time?!"

He laughed with me, "Haha, I missed you too Mabel."

Then, the bright smile I had missed for over a year turned into a serious frown, "As for where I've been, I'll tell you later, right now we have to save you."

"Save me?" I looked at him as if he were crazy, "Didn't you just save me from Anima's attack?"

He nodded, "All I could do was create a temporary shelter to protect you from her." Then he created a small orb, "In fact, it looks like she's trying to break the bubble as we speak. It won't be able to hold for long."

"Oh no!" I screamed, "What'll happen when it breaks?!"

Without missing a beat, "Without that bubble protecting you, Anima will have free reign over you. Most likely, she'll just outright kill you and do what she did to me, Ragin and Sophia."

"What did she do to you?!" Then I realized, "And how do you know Ragin and Sophia?!"

"We can answer those questions!" The knight responded. Unlike before, he was wearing golden armor with black shoulder guards. He shining armor was decorated with red crests and black plating over his arms. In the spaces within the crests were decorated with royal blue.

By his side was the girl from lake, the one who turned into the gremloblin-thing. Her once disheveled appearance was now cleaned, and I have to admit, extremely cute.

She had slightly grown, messy brunette hair with two red beads on both sides, creating slight pigtails with her short hair. She wore a simple green dress, white stockings, small brown boots and a red blanket-like hood.

"Ragin! Is that you?!"

The man nodded.

I continued, "And is that Sophia?"

He nodded again.

"So what did Anima do to you guys?"

Ragin stepped forward and kneed down in front of me, "Anima lied to you."

I looked into his eyes, "Yeah I know that, but that doesn't tell me anything about what she did to you."

But, he just seemed to ignore what I said, "She wasn't leading you to the spring willingly, she was trying to lead you to your death."

"What do you mean?"

"Anima sent you on an impossible mission so that you'd die. And when you did, she'd absorb all of your magical power to become stronger."

That's when all the pieces started falling into place for me, "In the process of stealing power, the victim's memories would be taken too."

Ragin's already serious voice got even more solemn, "And because the resulting spirit would have no memories of their past life, except for the last things they did, they would be unable to pass on. That's how a lost soul is created."

"So she took your powers, and your memories?!"

Ragin nodded, "Yet, when Dipper died she faced a problem."

Dipper cut in, "When I died, she expected another easy take, but something was hindering her."

"And what was that?" I stupidly asked.

"Our bond." He answered, "Because we were so close, and because I just couldn't let go, Anima was unable to steal all of my magical power, so instead used the little power she could get from me to call for you."

"But wouldn't the same thing have happened to Ragin?" I asked.

Dipper shook his head, "You see, though Ragin was close to Sophia, his bond wasn't able to transcend life and death itself… Sophia running away into the forest in search of her brother after Ragin disciplined him didn't help their case either."

Then the starry space shook, and a small crack appeared above me.

"We're running out of time!" Dipper screamed, "We have to defeat Anima before she kills anyone else!"

"But how? I can't fight her on my own! And you guys are only powerless spirits, so what can you do?" I nervously cried.

Dipper smiled, and the bubble shook again, "You see Mabel, when Anima used my body to put Trishula's Armor on, she released her hold over the lost souls so she could absorb all of their power."

"But even then, how will three spirits stand up to Anima when she has the power of all of the lost souls, plus Trishula?!"

Ragin came up and answered, "Because though Anima's darkness summoned the armor of Trishula, our light can summon an armor even stronger than that!"

"But how?"

For a second it seemed like Ragin was about to tell me how, but the bubble shaking and cracking made him reconsider, "Just trust us." Ragin assured, "We know a way. Will you fight Anima? The fate of you, Gravity Falls, and possibly the world hangs in the balance."

I sighed, "I guess it's either fight Anima, or die and give her more power. I'll fight her."

"Then it's settled." Dipper said, before snapping his fingers.

In an instant I found myself floating above the murky spring water.

Dipper, Ragin and Sophia were standing in a triangle around me. Ragin pulled out his sword and buried it in the ground in front of him, while Dipper and Sophia extended their arms out.

Then Dipper cried, "With the power of light, we call upon the power of the stars, ancient forces near and far! Sophia, goddess of rebirth! We ask you to grant this girl your power so that she may defeat the darkness that lies in front of her!"

Ragin continued, "Clean the waters of this sacred spring, and use its magic and light to build the most powerful armor ever created!"

And Sophia finished, "Activate the sacred cycle and grant Mabel the power of light! So that she may be reborn as a warrior capable of defeating darkness!"

Then together the three commanded, "Sophia! Release and dispel!"

Hundreds of golden orbs appeared around us, and a golden diamond appeared in front of me.

"Take it in your hands Mabel!" Dipper yelled. I looked at him and nodded, before taking the majestic diamond in my hands.

In an instant, the once murky spring water under my feet purified, as the golden diamond's glow engulfed me yellow light.

"Good luck Mabel!" Dipper yelled as I shut my eyes.

And when I open them again. I'm no longer wearing my torn clothes.

Instead, I'm wearing a long, majestic magenta dress with dark pink skirt by my knees; it's decorated with flame-like markings. Another one of those weird purple and gold mirrors is around my waist like a buckle securing a seashell like skirt to it. I had two majestically crafted mirrors put together for a slightly revealing bra. On my head was a winged helmet that was orange on top and red on the bottom.

On my arms were light blue tattoos. My right hand was entirely purple after the tattoos, and had a purple and white core floating above it, while my left hand was entirely yellow and had a yellow orb with a black core above it.

On my back were transparent wings made entirely of light. Both started out as small colored stubs, before curving off. And both had triangular feathers floating near them. Though, the wing on my right was purple, while the one on my left was yellow.

And though the dress only reached my knees, and though my shins and feet were exposed, I felt warm, and ready to fight.

I floated in awe for a moment, and all Anima could do was step back in shock for a moment, before defiantly yelling, "Grr! How you received Sophia's blessing, I do not know. But I will not let you stop me from having my vengeance on humanity!"

Then she pulled out her sword and lunged for me.

I gritted my teeth and concentrated, before defiantly answering, "Thank you for helping me, and for that, I shall redeem you Anima!"

Then I concentrated, and the two orbs in my hands started to glow.

"1-12-12 20-8-1-20 9-19 7-15-12-4 4-15-5-19 14-15-20 7-12-9-20-20-5-18." ~20-15-12-11-9-5-14.

"13-25 14-1-13-5 9-19 13-1-2-5-12 16-9-14-5-19, 1-14-4 9 19-8-1-12-12 18-5-4-5-5-13 1-14-9-13-1!"

**A/N Hey guys, it looks like something crazy is going to happen next chapter. I hope you liked this chapter, despite the reception last chapter got.**

**R&amp;R as always**

**9 4-15-14-'20 15-23-14 7-18-1-22-9-20-25 6-1-12-12-19!**


	11. Dipper

"Go! Light Force Shield!" I commanded and without hesitation, the two orbs flew in front of me and created a pink, pentagonal shield decorated with much larger white angel wing that had a pink orb where it would attach to the back.

Anima was unable to couldn't stop herself from crashing into the magical barrier. And when she did, the shield shocked her and forced her back, the icy sword shattered in the process, "Grr! I will destroy you!"

I countered with, "I'd like to see you try! Go Constellar Arrow!" The golden orb reformed and fired a stream of golden arrows at my armored brother.

"Even though Sophia has given you her blessing, that doesn't mean that you'll know how to use her sacred armor!" Then Anima started to glow with dark aura, "Warlock of the Ice Barrier, come to my aid!"

The shadows around her dispelled and reformed into light-skinned, boy with long, silvery-blue hair. He wore a black shirt and pants outlined with blue trim. He had an orange coat on and snowflake for a belt buckle, "Go my warlock! Attack Mabel!"

The warlock pulled out an icy wand with the same snowflake at the end, and fired a barrage of icy shards at me.

"Frost Missile!" Anima shouted as she flew around the barrage and fired an icy rocket at me.

My immediate response was to shout, "King's Shield!"

This time the purple orb reacted and formed a silvery-purple, hexagonal barrier in front of me. The barrier absorbed the attacks and condensed them into a single star.

"Constellar Meteor!" I commanded, and immediately, two golden, eight-pointed rings appeared under me, with the smaller of the two inside the larger. The golden star went ablaze and launched itself at Anima

"Go Defender of the Ice Barrier, protect me from the meteor!" Anima cried, and a brown-fur wolf, decorated with icy crystals appeared in front of her. The wolf roared and an icy barrier rose from the ground to protect Anima.

However, despite the protective veil, the blast managed to force Anima back. Yet, without missing a single beat, Anima rolled back on her feet and pointed the broken handle of her sword at me, "Trident Strike!"

Then she expanded the armor's icy wings and flew up, before reforming her icy sword as an Icy trident and diving at me, "Go! Trishula's Seal! Hold her in place!"

A silvery-blue ring appeared around me. I struggled to move, but to no avail. I was stuck.

Yet, I stayed headstrong and braced myself for impact. After everything I had been through, I could not- I would not let Anima win.

"Ignite! Shield of Achilles!" A familiar voice commanded as Dipper appeared in front of me.

He wielded a steam-punk shield with pipes on top, screws on the sides and a circular emblem in the center: a single gear flowing with rainbow energy, covered by a triangular roof and three triangular prongs that were secured to the shield by three screws. He and the entire shield glowed with a purple aura.

"Grr!" Anima screamed in frustration as her trident shattered against the purple shield and was forced her back, "Who dares to interfere in this battle!"

Dipper flew to my side and broke the magical bonds with the shield, "I dare Anima!" The ghostly boy defiantly shouted, "Mabel, I'm here with ya! We'll fight her together!"

I nodded at him, before turning to face Anima.

"Now then, I need you to focus Mabel." He continued with a rushed tone, "you're able to use a lot of Sophia's power with her base armor, but to unlock her full power, you have to unlock her sacred scepter!"

"But how?! I barely even know how to use this armor!" I screamed, "I've just been fighting with whatever comes to mind! And besides, how do you know all this?"

"I'm a nerd, I know lots of things!"

"Let me rephrase. How do you expect me to figure out her armor?!" I shouted.

He calmly responded, "Because you're my sister! You can do amazing things when you put your mind to it!" Anima shouted, "Ice Cannon!" And fired an icy beam at Dipper, who responded by reigniting the shield.

"Plus, you figured out how to use Unicore's Armor, and you were staring down a dragon! You can figure out Sophia's!"

Trishula flew up again and charged up dark energy again, before commanding, "Samurai of the Ice Barrier, come to my aid!" The shadows dispelled and created an Ice clad swordsman at her side.

"Go and attack that spirit!" The knight grunted, before jumping at Dipper. Yet, the incorporeal boy immediately responded, "Ignite! Beagalltach! "

Dipper glowed with bright red aura as he pulled out a wide, short, steampunk blade with red lines of energy flowing though the blade. The sword had the same core as the shield built into the center of the handle; which was curved slightly upwards.

*Clang*

The two metal blades clashed, "Mabel, concentrate! If you focus the power of Sophia's armor through those orbs, you can unlock Sophia's weapon!"

"Icicle Spear!" Anima screamed, before firing an icy spear at me and glowing once more, "Royal Knight of the Ice Barrier! Come to my aid."

An ice-clad knight decorated with gold and iron armor appeared next to her. It had a majestic red cape and wielded an icy spear.

It wasted no time charging at me.

I immediately screamed the first thing that came to mind, "Go, Vylon segment!" And thank god, because the golden orb responded by flying in front of me and forming two golden half shields with purple lightning holding the two halves together. While the purple orb flew in front of the shield and formed circular, translucent purple barrier.

The mindless knight crashed into it and exploded, leaving a cloud of thick, black smoke in its wake. Anima used the chance to fly through and attack me. "Icicle Crash!" She yelled, and a blast of icy spears sent my flying back.

After that, I was on a knee, and I struggled to even raise my arms to fight back.

"The end has come Mabel!" She held her sword's handle up, "Reform, Sword of the Ice Barrier!" The mirror started to glow with dark aura, and the broken shards of her icy weapon returned to form the dark sword.

"Now die!" Then she charged at at me.

I desperately tried to get out of the way, but before I could cast a spell, or even move Anima cried, "Magical Triangle of the Ice Barrier! Hold Mabel in place!" And a shadowy gold triangle appeared around me, and held me in place.

I tried to against my magical bonds, but to no avail.

"Now, you shall die Mabel! It's over! I " Anima sped towards me, sword first.

"Ignite! Aegis Shield!" Dipper cried as he flew in front of me and glowed bright yellow. An ancient, steampunk-styled shield appeared in front of him. It glowed with yellow lines of aura.

Anima's powerful sword shattered when it hit Dipper's shield, "Grr! I told you not to interfere!" Anima forced Dipper away.

"Never! As long as you're messing with Mabel, you're messing with me!" Dipper got back on his feet and commanded, "Ignite, Caduceus!" and he glowed bright orange.

A steam-punk, straight-edged axe appeared in his hands, "Take this Anima!" he swung at her, yet Anima simply dodged his powerful axe and kneed him in the stomach. Then, she threw her leg up and kicked him to the ground. She calmly landed in the snow, before strolling over to him, preparing to finish him off.

Rage filled me as I struggled against the magical bonds, "No one. And I mean no one…" I could feel my hatred for Anima- the pain I felt from all of her lies boil through me, "Hurts Dipper on my watch!"

That's when I started to glow with golden aura and began chanting whatever words came to mind, "I call upon the powers of the day and the night! Light and darkness, unleash your might!"

Immediately, the glowing triangle around me started to dim and crack.

"Release!" I shouted, and my bonds shattered as the yellow and black orbs reformed above my hands.

I didn't hesitate to I hold both of them up.

"Oh orbs of light and darkness, with powers over order and chaos, surrender the wand and reveal your true power!"

The two orbs glowed bright white, and flew up, before colliding and merging into a single white orb, which shrunk down into a majestic winged key.

"No!" Anima turned to me, "I will not let you complete the ritual! Reform my sacred sword!" She screamed and attempted to attack me.

"Oh hell no! Ignite, Labrys!" Dipper glowed bright violet, and created a massive steam-punk battle-axe flowing with the color, "If you want to get to Mabel, you have to get through me first!"

Then he defiantly swung at her, much to Anima's disdain.

"Grr, fine! I will!" I watched as she retaliated against Dipper, "Mabel! Finish the spell and unlock Sophia's Staff!"

I nodded and started thinking of the words. A magic circle appeared under me. It had a massive five-pointed star encased by a larger 12-pointed star; it had the sun on one side and the moon on the other. Ancient ruins decorated the outer circle.

"Oh Key of Light and Darkness, bring forth the ancient power of the stars! Oh Scepter of Sophia, please hear my cry! Transform thyself from key of light! And grant me victory in this fight! Bathe this battlefield in your glow as you unleash your power upon my foe. Unlock the powers from deep within so that together we may win! Reveal your true nature to me, as I call your name! Sacred Scepter of Sophia!"

The key was encased in a golden orb of light and began to spin around wildly as I raised my hands above it.

"Release!" I commanded and lowered my hands.

The key stopped in place as the winds around me stirred and flowed into the wand.

I watched in awe as the object grew to twice my height. The scepter was light pink with a golden, star-shaped point with a red jewel on the bottom. The scepter was topped with a golden, 9-pointed double star and a 9-pointed star with a red jewel in its center. Connecting the stars was a golden crescent moon. And connected to the sides of the moon were two massive, outstretched angel wings.

I gritted my teeth and declared, "Anima! Your redemption is nigh!"

The scepter glowed with golden aura, "Constellar Pleiades and Constellar Praesepe come to my aid!" Immediately a massive golden knight with a golden hand axe and a blue cape and a golden knight with a golden right claw and a red cape, appeared at my sides, "Attack the dark spirit!"

The two jumped at Anima who countered, "Dewloren, Tiger King of The Ice Barrier and Medium of the Ice barrier! Come to my aid!" Immediately a blue tiger in icy armor and a beautiful woman with blue hair and a snowy dress appeared in front of her.

Yet, they were no match for the Knights of the Stars, "Grr!" Anima screamed, "Come forth Gungnir and Brionac! Destroy those knights!"

Anima glowed once more, and an icy sea-serpent-like dragon and an icy dragon, glowing red with heat appeared by her sides. Both roared and charged at the knights, The Brionac crushing Praesepe while Gungnir bathed Pleiades in fiery ice.

Yet, I didn't hesitate, and my Scepter glowed once more, this time with green light, "Daigusto Sphreez!" Then with brown light, "Gem-knight Prismura!" And finally with Blue Light, "And Evgishki Tetrogre!"

Immediately A green and orange haired man in tribal outfit with silver armor, a white knight with crystals growing throughout his body, and a fishy, purple ogre with the same armor and laser guns on his shoulders.

"Take down Brionac and Gungnir!" I commanded and the three warriors jumped up and relentlessly attacked the Ice Barrier Dragons.

"I will not let you win! Go-"

"Ignite, Moralltach!" Dipper glowed Light blue and a long, steampunk sword with blue lines of energy flowing through it, appeared in his hands.

"Stop interfering!" Anima commanded, "Shock Troops of the Ice Barrier! Hinder this lost one!" And a squad of Icy ninja's came at Dipper from all Sides. Yet, the ghostly boy stood his ground, and instead spun around- hitting them all of them with the blade.

Anima used thee distraction to rush me sword first, "Sacred Sword of the Ice Barrier!"

Yet, I countered, "Go! Sacred Sword of Seven Stars!" And Sophia's Scepter answered my command. The big dipper appeared under my feet and the sacred scepter glowed bright white. It shrunk and reformed into a golden sword with a night-blue blade. The blade was decorated with seven gold-encrusted orbs. The handle was decorated with golden handles and a red tassel.

When our swords clashed, Anima's Icy weapon shattered and I was able to force her back. Then I countered, "Seven Star Blade Slash!"

My sacred sword glowed bright blue, and fired a slash of energy at Anima. Yet, she was able to dodge the blast and charged straight at me.

"Mabel! Take this!" Dipper threw Moralltach at me.

I caught the sword and shouted, "Go, duel sword technique! Double-edged slash!" and with the dual blades I was able to force Anima back.

Then, I through the sacred sword up in the air, and reformed the scepter.

*Grrahh! * Anima shouted in frustration, before glowing with Dark Aura, "Oh Mirror of the Ice Barrier, please here my cry, grant me the power of he who sealed the sacred dragons away!"

An icy, hexagonal mirror appeared in her hand. It was decorated with Trishula's three heads on the sides and top, "Go! Ice mirror sword!"

A Silvery Ice Straight-edged sword formed from the mirror.

Dipper quickly flew to my side holding Beagalltach, "Ready Mabel?" He said with a determined voice, "If we can't defeat Anima here, she will take over the world to exact her revenge."

I nodded, "I'm ready." And I raised Moralltach,

And together we shouted, "Go! Triple weapon ignition!" before clashing the two swords together while I used the power of the sacred scepter to fuse the two.

Then together we commanded, "Ignite! Durendal!"

The resulting sword was massive. Dipper and I worked together to swing the blue and red sword at Anima's Ice mirror Sword.

And when the weapons hit, everything exploded sending all of us flying back.

*Grr* Anima growled while clenching her side and the broken mirror, "I will not lose! Not to the likes of you! Come to me, lost ones of the forest!"

"Ma-Mabel!" Dipper started to get pulled into the abyss that was becoming Anima's body. "Dipper! No!" I screamed as I desperately tried to grab at Dipper's hand, but to no avail. Dipper along with the remaining lost souls was pulled into Anima dark abyss.

Tears filled my eyes, while Anima overflowed with dark power.

She gave a sadistic smile, before declaring, "Enough with these weaklings! No more playing games! Come forth, Generals of the Ice Barrier! Gantala, Raiho and Grunard!" And the three powerful men appeared by her side.

The first was a well-built man in simple tribal cloths with an ice gauntlet on his right arm. The second was a man in icy blue garments with an icy helmet wielding an icy fan. And the third wore icy armor, decorated with prestigious markings, surrounded by floating ice crystals.

"Hmm, I wonder what's missing." Anima commented as she landed wit her three generals, "Oh, I know exactly what's missing." Then she glowed once more, "Come forth, Prior of the Ice barrier!"

When I saw who she had summoned, I broke down. She had used Dipper's spirit as the basis to create a cloaked sorcerer with a blue cape hiding a white tunic.

"Now, my generals and prior! Attack Mabel!" The first general went ahead and tried to punch me with his icy first while the second came up from behind and sliced at me with his icy fan. Luckily for me, I was able to dodge their assaults.

That's when the third general came up and surrounded me with ice crystals, before using them to encase my body in ice.

"Finish her my dark generals!" She commanded. And all three generals stood, preparing to end me. And so, I closed my eyes, and held my head low. With Dipper under Anima's control, there was no point to keep fighting.

"Keep fighting Mabel!" The Prior painfully cried, "No matter where I am, I will always be with you. Keep fighting! Do it for me, do it for Stan and Wendy and Soos! Do it for us all!"

"Keep fighting," I whispered, "I must… keep fighting… To save Dipper!" Then I defiantly opened my eyes, before using all of my power to break my icy bonds and force the generals back.

"Fight Mabel! Fight!" The prior commanded as he held his head like a madman, before finally exploding.

"Oh Scepter of Sophia, guide my actions now!" I raised Sophia's Scepter and cried, "Let's add some fire to this ice storm!"

The Scepter glowed with fiery light, "Lavalval Judgment Lord! Lavalval Stennon! And Lavalval Dragun! Come to my aid!"

A demonic, fiery general with a torn red cape, A large, muscular beast with the same white armor from before and a cannon for a left arm, and a fiery pterodactyl by my side.

"Go my fire warriors! Burn the generals of ice!" I commanded, and they complied by engulfing the three in flames.

"Now Constellar Ptolemy M7 and Constellarknight Diamond! Help me fight Anima's Darkness with your infinite light!" A silver, mechanical, dragon-like monster with galaxy-blue energy wings, and a pink-silver dragon with massive golden rings holding its majestic wings open appeared.

I pointed at Anima, "Go! Constellarknight Wave!" And the two dragons fired a barrage of light beams at her, forcing her to the ground.

Yet, she wouldn't give up that easily. "Go! Dragon Emperor Destruction wave!" She desperately cried, but I countered with, "Infinity's shield." Protecting myself, but letting the warriors I summoned get destroyed in the process.

Anima resonated dark energy as she gave one final desperate attack, "Go Dark Move! Trishula's Triumph!" And with a massive blast of darkness, Anima fired three dark beams from her hands and mouth.

I concentrated, and defiantly resonated with Sophia's light energy, "Anima! Here comes your redemption! Constellar Nova Alpha!" The Scepter glowed with pure white light, and the symbol of the Constellars appeared under me once again, before the weapon fire a massive beam of light energy at Anima's Dark blast. Causing a massive explosion.

When the smoke cleared, I was no longer wearing Sophia's armor and Anima was no longer wearing Trishula's armor. Yet, the spirit still possessed Dipper's Body.

"My armor! My Power! You Bitch!" Anima screamed, "You'll pay for this!" Then, using the last of her dark energy she screamed, "Ignite, Scythe!" And immediately, a black, steampunk scythe appeared in her hands.

"Now die!" She demanded as she swung the dark weapon at me in desperation.

Yet I did not back down.

Instead, I defiantly grabbed the weapon and forced it out of her hands, before shouting, "Ignite Sacred Sword! Excaliburn!" And the dark steampunk scythe fell apart, before reforming as a golden sword that glowed blue on one half and red on the other. Then, with a single movement, I impaled Anima with it.

Anima stood in shock for a moment, before falling to her knees. "How… How did a mere mortal defeat me…" She muttered, before she started to float up. That's when the realization hit her. And all she could do, was scream "No!" as her dark powers left Dipper's body with a massive explosion.

After that, Dipper's body hit the ground with a loud *thud*.

I stood for a moment, before falling to my knees and just staying by it.

It was silent for a few moments, and I began to lose hope, but then Dipper slowly opened his eyes and looked at me.

"H-hey Ma-Mabel…" *Cough* *Cough*

"Dipper… you're back! After all this time you're finally back!" I cried in joy and embraced Dipper.

He smiled at me, "I'm back… Thank you for freeing me Mabel…"

The magical sword disappeared as I embraced my brother tighter. That's when I noticed something, "Dipper! You're bleeding!"

"Yeah, to defeat Anima, you impaled me with the sword… Thank you… you did what you had to do…"

"I have to get you home! I have to-" I frantically shouted.

Yet, he just weakly placed his hand on my mouth, "Don't worry Mabel, you defeated Anima and freed the lost souls from her curse… Because of that, I know I will see you soon… I'm free because of you…"

"Dipper! Please don't leave me again!" I shouted at the boy while his blood stained my clothes, "I don't want to lose you again!"

He smiled once more, and weakly returned my embrace, before whispering, "See you on the other side, Mabel..."

And with that, his body went limp, and all I was left with, was nothing.

"14-15-20 1-12-12 20-8-15-19-5 23-8-15 23-1-14-4-5-18 1-18-5 12-15-19-20" ~ 20-15-12-11-9-5-14

20-8-5 3-21-18-19-5 9-19 12-9-6-20-5-4 1-14-4 20-8-5 19-16-9-18-9-20-19 1-18-5 6-18-5-5, 25-5-20 9 1-13 19-20-9-12-12 8-5-18-5 1-14-4 9 1-13 19-20-9-12-12 3-21-18-19-5-4.

**A/N Well guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, R&amp;R as always. You know. Please send me some feedback guys, thanks.**

**Disclaimer: Bill Cipher has taken over Gravity Falls! He owns it now!**


	12. Mabel

Instead of asking questions or even doing anything, Nurse Joy just sits there. It's as if she doesn't know whether or not to say something. It doesn't matter to me, though. I just told her the truth. Dipper is dead, and it's all my fault.

So I finish the hot soup and drink the left over juices by painstakingly scooping them out with my spoon.

"I couldn't believe it. Dipper's dead body was in my arms. Before I could even begin to comprehend what had happened, the spring of dreams began to lose its glow. And all I could do was watch." Tears fill my eyes, "Immediately after the spring died, almost on cue, my uncles found me. They had used a powerful magic tracer to follow the trail I had left behind. They ran over screaming with joy when they saw me…" My voice trails off.

"So how did you end up in police custody?" Nurse Joy asks while scribbling more random notes down.

I respond with some disbelief in my voice, "I couldn't believe it myself, but Blubs and Durland had decided to accompany my uncles just to see what would happen. In fact, I think they would've laughed at them if they hadn't found me."

"After that, Blubs and Durland's joking and carefree demeanor turned into a serious one, and they made sure to convince both of my uncles to allow them to take me to the station for questioning. And that's how I ended up here." I finish, and look straight into Joy's eyes.

She scribbles down a few more notes, before finally slamming the book shut and looking at me with sympathetic eyes.

"Well?" I ask with a rushed tone, half-expecting for her to dismiss my story as crazy.

But instead of laughing or rejecting my story, she gets out of the simple plastic chair, walks over to me and embraces me. "You poor thing… you haven't had a break…"

I roll my eyes, "I know I haven't had a break. Isn't that obvious? Got any questions? My story is done and I know you have stuff to ask."

"I guess I just have one question, and when you answer it I'll let you go home." She sits back down and flips to a random page in Blubs's notebook, "You've been through a ton these past few days, and done incredible things."

"Yeah? I've fought a dragon, saved the world and stuff… So what's the question?"

She doesn't hesitate to ask, "Earlier, when I asked you whose blood stained your scarf; you said that it was your own, but your story shows that it was Dipper's blood that stained it. What did you mean by that?"

I respond by staring silently into her eyes.

"Umm… Mabel," She stutters in surprise, but I continue to stare.

Finally, after a few tense moments, I decide to answer, "Dipper… he was my brother. His blood was the same as my own. And it is that blood that stains this scarf…"

Tears start to fill my eyes, "Di-Dipper…" before I start to bawl my eyes out on the table, "Dipper! It's all my fault that he's dead! Why couldn't it have been me?!"

Nurse Joy calmly reaches over and pats my back, "Don't worry Mabel… everything's going to get better from here. After everything you've gone through, how can it not?"

And for a moment, I hold onto her words, but soon the realization hits me. How can it get better? My brother and closest friend is dead. I have nothing left… so what's the point? Why should I keep going on?

"I guess… I guess it can get better…" I whisper, "Thank you for the soup, Nurse."

She gives me a small smile, "It was my pleasure."

Then she gets out of her chair, "Now that you're all cleaned up and fed, I'll talk to your uncle about taking you home."

I nod, "Thank you." And quietly watch Nurse Joy stroll out of the room with her head up high… and I'll be honest, I'm surprised. After everything she's said and done… her walking out like that makes it look like it was all an act!

"_What the…" _I think.

Nurse Joy slowly closes the door behind her, making sure not to make a bang.

"_I wonder…"_ I get out of the chair and quietly follow, _"Was she lying to me the whole time? Was that all an act just to get me to talk?"_

Joy steps out the door and into the lobby, before closing the door behind her, making sure to check that I wasn't following her. Luckily, I'm able to hide in the examination room while she does so.

I come out from my hiding spot and quietly move to the door and listen.

Blubs is the first to greet her, "Hello Nurse Joy, I assume all went well?"

I hear Nurse Joy answer, "Yes, she felt comfortable enough to tell the story and told me everything."

Stan speaks up, "So Is Mabel ok?! Can I take her home now? And what are you guys talking about? What worked?"

"Don't worry, I've fed her and cleaned her wounds. I would provide her with new clothes to wear, but I apologize that I do not have spares…" Her voice trails off, before she continues, "As for what he's talking about, Blubs asked me to continue the questioning since I am nicer than him and have a more sympathetic atmosphere around me… and since Blubs sucks at being sympathetic. I'm the real nurse of Gravity Falls, but I had to be more sympathetic than usual and make it seem like I had lower self-esteem than I really do."

She hands Blubs the notebook and continues, "By seeming like I was weak and unsure of my methods, I was able to get her to open up… And get her to tell me a ton about herself and what happened."

"_So she was just playing me all along… I couldn't trust her after all…" _Tears started to fill my eyes, _"I wish Dipper was here. I wish there was someone around that I could trust…"_

Blubs quickly flips through the faded pages, "So did she tell you who killed her brother?"

"She… she did." Nurse Joy says, seemingly unsure of her answer.

"Well? Who's responsible for the murder?" Blubs says with an impatient tone.

But instead of answering, Joy looks down.

"Answer damnit." Blubs screams, "It's not a hard question to answer! Who killed Dipper Pines?!" Then he grabs the nurse by the shoulders and gets in her face, "I brought her here to get an answer!"

Joy sighs and pushes him off, "It's complicated…"

Stan interrupts, "How so?"

"Mr. Pines, who killed Dipper is up to the person observing the case." She finally answers, "To a law maker or a Politian, or to anyone who has never seen Gravity Falls before, it was Mabel herself that killed Dipper…"

"But what if it's a person like me? Just some guy on the street and a resident of the Falls?" Stan asks, and Joy responds, "To you, Dipper's true killer, was a spirit named Anima. She was hell-bent on having revenge on your family and if it were not for Dipper's sacrifice and Mabel carrying it out, I doubt we'd be here right now."

Blubs crosses his arms, "I guess that works then. I'll file the report while you talk about whether or not Mabel will go home. In my eyes, she's free to go, but I would like a word with her in the morning. Just to check up on her story and get some more info from her."

Stan and Joy both nod, and Blubs and Durland leave without another word.

"So can I take her home nurse?" Stan impatiently asks.

She sighs in response, "It's against my better judgment, but…"

"But what?" Stan rudely interrupts.

Joy looks him with hopeful eyes; "I'll let her go home with you tonight… though I want her to come back tomorrow too. Just to check on her health and stuff. Hopefully she'll feel better in the morning. Please bring her back here if anything happens during the night…" Then, she looks away, at the plain door, "Also, make sure to keep any and all sharp objects, or things that can cause self-harm away from her. As she stands, she is mentally unstable. And I'm worried she might do something drastic."

"_Mentally unstable… is that all I am to her?" _I step back into the bedroom and lie down on the bed, _"But I guess she has a point… I just told her a crazy story that no sane person would believe…"_

That's when the realization hits me, _"And in everyone's eyes I killed Dipper… It's my fault he's dead. If I had been smarter… If I had only seen Anima's tricks… If I had found a different way, maybe he'd still be alive." _I start to tear up, and quietly run back to the examination room, and cry on the bed.

While I cry, Nurse Joy walks in, and she greets me with a slightly upbeat voice. "Ok Mabel, whenever you're ready to go, your uncle is waiting for you." Then comes over and takes a seat on the bed next to me, before continuing with a quiet, sympathetic voice, "Don't cry… things are going to get better. Just you wait."

I look at her with tear filled eyes, "How? My brother is dead, and it's my all my fault! He was my best friend. Without him, what do I have left?"

"You still have your family and friends. You still have a relatively nice home and people that care about you. Don't worry, just hang in there."

"_Do I really? What's the point of going on anymore? I've pushed everyone away. I've spent so much time searching that I stopped talking to my family. Worse, all of the effort I put into finding Dipper has just ended in vain."_ So I just keep my frown and say, "So I can go home now?

*Sigh* "Yes Mabel, you are free to go." Nurse Joy grabs my damaged bag and hands it to me, "Feel better Mabel. See you tomorrow."

I just nod in response and walk out of the small room. Then I walk into the waiting room, and Stan wastes no time embracing me, "I was so worried about you Mabel. Thank goodness you're ok!"

"Yeah… I'm glad I'm ok too…" I let my voice trail off, but Stan doesn't notice. I don't know if that's good or bad.

"Come on," Stan motions to the door, "I'll drive us home and maybe even get you some grub to eat when we get there… if Ford decided to actually cook something for once."

I quietly follow him out the door into the cold winter night. I wish my sweater and Jacket weren't so badly damaged. I'm freezing cold when we get into the old, red, rust bucket that Stan calls his car. *Vroom* The old engine goes, while Stan starts the machine. He says, "Let's go home kid," before speeding through the old town roads.

"Hey kid," Stan says, breaking the silence that had formed between us, "I know what you're going through right now… I think at least. After Ford got sucked into the portal, I couldn't sleep for months. I did everything I could to get him back…"

Then I cut him off, "But there was hope for him…"

"What?" He says with his surprised, gruff voice.

I turn to him, "At least you had hope that Ford was still alive. He was just sucked into Bill's portal… you didn't know if he was alive or dead. There is no hope for Dipper. I held his dead body in my arms. I did everything I could, I pleaded for him to come back to life, and nothing happened. He's gone Stan, and there's nothing that I can do about it." I start to cry, "And it's all my fault! I ignited Excaliburn and impaled him with it! I killed him." I slam my arm against the banged up door, leaving yet another dent on the interior.

Yet, instead of getting angry at me, all Stan does is continue to drive and say, *Sigh* "Don't worry Mabel, things are going to get better, just you wait." Then he turns the car down a familiar dirt road. A few days ago it was covered in snow, but thanks to winter tourism, it's clean.

"Anyways, why don't you head up to your room while I cook some dinner?" Stan says, as he takes the keys out of the ignition and steps out of the car, "You can get some rest, and by the bags under your eyes, I think you need some.

I think about it for a moment, while I get out of the rusty car.

"Mabel?" Stan asks with a worried tone.

"I'll be fine. Just call me when dinner's ready." I say while we walk through the front door to the Mystery Shack. Then I go up to the empty room that I've called home for more than a year and a half.

The first thing I do when I walk inside, is search for Dipper's tools, our camping supplies, heck even our lantern, but for some reason, none of them are there.

"_It looks like Stan had Soos and Ford clean up the place and remove all instruments of injury"_ I think; then I turn to the desk by the window, _"But our chair is still here…"_

That's when an idea hits me, _"I'm going to see Dipper again, no matter what. I'm desperate to talk to him again. But how am I going to do this… Someone took all the rope… And I don't have anything that can be used as a replacement…"_

"_Wait… I don't need a rope…"_ I think, realizing I have what I need already around my neck. I rub my cheeks on the scarf and let its warm fibers snuggle close to my face, while I think, _"Thank you Dipper."_

I grab the chair and set it up under one of the low-hanging rafters. Stan had wanted to remove them ever since he realized that I was growing up. Thank goodness Soos never got around to them.

So using Dipper's Scarf, I tie and secure the free end like a rope to the wooden beam, while securing the other end around my neck.

Then, I close my eyes and kick the chair back. And in the few seconds I'm floating, I think, _"I know I will see you soon Dipper._

20-8-5 15-12-4 20-8-1-20 9-19 19-20-18-15-14-7 4-15-5-19 14-15-20 23-9-20-8-5-18 ~20-15-12-11-9-5-14


	13. Transcendence

Epilogue

It feels like an eternity before I open my eyes again, and yet, it feels like I'm opening them for the first time.

The first thing I see is the bright sun shining in my eyes, *Ugh* I groan, "Where am I?" before I push myself out of the warm snow and take a look around.

"I'm in the forest…" I whisper. I'm no longer wearing the torn and bloody clothes I had back at the shack, and instead have a pure white dress on. Yet, despite the change, I'm still wearing the scarf Dipper gave me and despite the fact that I'm in foot-deep snow in nothing but a short-sleeved shirt and cute white shoes, I'm not cold.

I turn around and immediately notice a woman, wearing icy armor similar to Anima's. She stands over me, while looking down with a sympathetic face.

A few moments of silence pass, before she greets me with a strong and commanding voice, "Hello Mabel, my name is Emilia, and I have come to act as your guide."

She has an icy tunic over her chest, which leaves her shoulders bare. An icy sheet covers the rest of her arms. She wears an icy belt with a hexagonal buckle that had an orange jewel embedded into it. She has long, flowing, red hair. Yet, despite her amor's similarities to Trishula, her helmet and wings seem to be based more around Gungnir's Head and wings than the dark dragon's. She also had a long, sea-serpent-like tail coming out the rear end of her suit.

"What do you mean?" I fearfully ask while taking a step back. Yet Emilia simply smiles and extends her arm to meet mine. I don't know what to do, so instead I take another step back and fall butt-first into the snow.

Emilia chuckles and takes a step towards me, before extending her hand once more and saying, "Don't worry Mabel, I'm not going to hurt you."

I don't know what it is, but the air around this woman becomes warmer... As if her very presence changed the icy tundra. It makes me feel... calm; like someone is trying to tell me that I can trust her. So I fight off my doubts and put my hand in hers.

"Let's go Mabel." She says, before helping me up, "I have come to take you home."

"Home?" I whisper in response, and Emilia nods, "Yes Mabel, home. Where someone is waiting for you. Someone you've been searching for."

I nod, and follow her through the ice and snow, down familiar paths and through uncharted territory.

We travel for what seems like hours before we reach it- the gate that rests outside the Spring of Dreams.

"Mabel…" Emilia starts.

"Yes?" I turn to the woman.

"This is where I leave you. Your new home lies ahead." She continues, before letting go of my hand and walking away. And for some reason, I don't question it, or even try to go after her.

Instead I keep walking and stroll passed the unguarded gate and into the spring. A few hours ago, this place was ruined, and no longer glowed with magic. But now, the spring glows brighter than ever. It's as if Anima had never touched it! I stand in awe of the magical spring for a few seconds, before a familiar voice brings me back to reality.

"Hey Mabel." He greets with a calm and happy tone, and I cannot contain my joy.

"Dipper!" I cry as I run as fast as I can through the snow and hug my brother, "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too Mabel," He says as he returns the embrace, "And I knew I'd see you soon."

I have tears in my eyes when I say, "And now what will we do Dipper? I guess we're both dead huh?"

In response, Dipper smiles, leans close to my ear and whispers, "And now it's our time to move on…"

It takes me a moment to understand, but when I do, I nod and with a flash of light, I feel joy and a sense that everything is going to be fine.

Meanwhile:

A golden triangle floats amongst the dimensions on the inter-dimensional plane, searching for something only spoken of in legends; one of the most powerful Outer Entities in existence.

After what you'd perceive as years pass, he finally reaches the center of the multiverse- the home of said entity.

"Why have you come here?" A powerful voice calls out, "Very few are capable of traveling to my domain, and the few that survive the journey, have something very special that they desire. So tell me, why have you made the treacherous journey to my dominion?"

Bill gets down on one knee and prostrates himself in front of the green tesseract, "My name is Bill Cipher, of dimension /'64. And I have come with a request. I ask that you fulfill it with steadfast action."

The Entity replies, "And what would be so important as to go to the Guardian of Order to request? Is your power not enough to do it yourself?"

The Illuminati Triangle raises his eyes to the guardian, "My power is not enough to change this. My dimension's Dipper and Mabel Pines have both died, and for my plans to come to fruition, I need both of them alive."

"And what would you want me to do?" The guardian asks, though he knows what Bill is going to say.

Bill Floats up to the Epsilon, and looks past his green outside and into his golden core as he says,

"Can you change their fates?"

"4-5-5-16 18-15-15-20-19 1-18-5 14-15-20 18-5-1-3-8-5-4 2-25 20-8-5 6-18-15-19-20" ~ 20-15-12-11-9-5-14

9 8-1-22-5 6-15-21-7-8-20 13-25 6-1-20-5 1-14-4 9-20 8-1-19 19-5-20 13-5 6-18-5-5 23-9-20-8 14-1-21-7-8-20 2-21-20 4-1-18-11-14-5-19-19 1-20 8-5-1-18-20. 25-5-20 9 12-15-15-11 9-14-19-9-4-5 1-14-4 11-14-15-23 23-5'18-5 14-5-22-5-18 6-1-18 1-16-1-18-20. 13-25 19-20-15-18-25 9-19 15-22-5-18. 9 8-1-22-5 6-15-21-14-4 23-8-1-20 9 23-1-19 19-5-1-18-3-8-9-14-7 6-15-18. 9 1-13 14-15 12-15-14-7-5-18 12-15-19-20.

-... .. .-.. .-.. .-. ... .-. .. ... . .. ... -. .. -. ... -. - ... . -.. .- .- -. - ..-. - .-. ..- . .-. - .- . .-. .. ... ..- .-. - -. ..- ...

**A/N And that's the end of this story. I hope you all enjoyed. Here's a shout-out to everyone who read and reviewed, and to Exotos135 for Beta reading the chapters. Enjoy decoding the last codes; I put extra effort into these. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.**


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